12
A ndhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday discarded his party’s age-old anti-Congress stance and called on Congress presi- dent Rahul Gandhji as well sev- eral Opposition leaders in a bid to script a pre-poll Opposition alliance to take on the BJP. Naidu’s meeting with Rahul came after the TDP and the Congress joined hands for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections. The Thursday development not only marks the beginning of a new chapter in the TDP- Congress relationship, but it could also pave the way for uniting the Opposition parties ahead of the next year’s poll. From 1990 onward, Naidu never contested any election with the Congress, be it State or Lok Sabha polls. Earlier in the day, Naidu met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and National Conference pres- ident Farooq Abdullah here. Naidu also met senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here and briefly dis- cussed about the need to bring all non-BJP political parties together. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister also held talks with former JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav. Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav landed in the national Capital for alliance discussion. This is Naidu’s second visit to Delhi in less than a week. He has already held preliminary discussions with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, BSP chief Mayawati, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and the DMK leader. After the meeting, Rahul told the media that the focal point is defeating the BJP. “We have agreed that prin- ciple idea here is to defeat the BJP and to defend democracy and the institutions of this country,” Rahul said standing side by side with Naidu. “All other ideas will be discussed later,” he said deflecting a ques- tion of who would be the face of proposed Opposition alliance in the next elections. “It is very clear that cor- ruption is taking place. Institutions that can investigate are being attacked... A proper enquiry on what all happened, where the money went and who did corruption... That is what I am pushing very aggres- sively. Nation wants to know this,” the Congress president said. When asked about the past bitter and confrontational rela- tions between the Congress and the TDP, Rahul said, “We have a past. We have both agreed that we are not going to talk about our past and talk about our future”. Naidu, whose entry on the national scene as a facilitators to bring together all the major non-BJP parties has created a sensation and buzz in national politics, said that very soon the leaders of all the non-BJP parties were going to meet to chalk out the future course of action. “We have to save this nation and save democracy. That is our mission. I discussed with Rahulji. In principle we agreed,” he said refusing to go into the troubled past of the relations between the two parties. Backing Naidu’s effort to unite the Opposition, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar said non-BJP parties will come out with a common minimum pro- gramme to take on the Government, while express- ing concern over “assault” on the CBI and the RBI. “If we collectively work to save democracy, we can defi- nitely save the institutions. Chandrababu (Naidu) will talk to other State political leaders in this regard,” the NCP chief told reporters. Alleging that the situation in the country seems to be “deteriorating” day by day as there is “assault” on institutions like the CBI and the RBI, he said there is a need to work for the common cause of “saving the country and democracy”. A common minimum pro- gramme will be drafted once the non-BJP parties come on board to discuss the matter, Pawar said. Voicing concern over the “difficult” times the country is going through, Abdullah said, “Today, democracy is in dan- ger and people are in danger. That is why we all met and decided to work out a common minimum programme to save democracy, institutions and the nation.” I n an attempt to gauge the political mood close to the Lok Sabha poll, BJP’s nomi- nated member to the Rajya Sabha Rakesh Sinha on Wednesday said he may move a private member’s bill in the Rajya Sabha demanding the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Bringing in a private member Bill in the Upper House by Sinha, an RSS ideo- logue, is seen as tactical move because if the Bill were to be introduced in the Lok Sabha (where NDA has a clear majority) the onus would be on the BJP to pass it. By intro- ducing it in the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling NDA is yet not in commanding position, the BJP would force Opposition to take a stand for and against the Bill and there- by on the construction of the temple in the disputed site. Continued on Page 4 A day after the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) urged Delhiites to use public trans- port for the first 10 days of November in the wake of alarming air quality in the city, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) has stepped up efforts to address the menace. The civic agency sealed 297 factories and warehouses dealing in products such as plastic, rubber and chemicals in Mundka, Kamruddin Nagar, Nilothi, Swarn Park, Tikari Kalan and Ghevra on Thursday. In the last one week, the NMC sealed 516 factories run- ning illegally and polluting the air by emitting poisonous gases and violating various others laid-down norms, said an offi- cial, adding that 219 other fac- tories and warehouses were sealed in Shahabad Daulatpur, Prahaladpur and Puthkhurd for running their operation in non-conforming areas. The official said the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) has provided a list of such pollut- ing units running in residential areas. There are over 10,000 such units operating from such areas and action was taken after a list of these units was pro- vided by the DSIIDC, he said. T he Competition Commission of India (CCI) is looking at algorithms used by airlines to determine fares, as part of a detailed probe into alleged fixing of air ticket prices, according to its chief Sudhir Mital. Currently, the fair trade regulator is investigating alle- gations of similar pricing as well as simultaneous increase in ticket prices by the airlines. The cases pertain to steep fluctua- tions in airfares during the Jat agitation in Haryana and floods in Chennai, among other instances, in the last few years. Mital, chairperson of the CCI, said it is currently look- ing into couple of cases of alleged price fixing by airlines. “We are trying to work out the pricing pattern followed by airlines. Airlines have often stated that similarity in airfares as well as increase in prices is an outcome of demand based dynamic pricing by the soft- wares used by them. “Unless and until the issue is examined and looked into in detail, we cannot say much at Continued on Page 4 C ongress on Thursday released its final list of 18 candidates and replaced a key candidate, just 24 hours before the last date of filing of nomi- nations for the second and final phase of polling in Chhattisgarh. Congress has dropped its three-time sit- ting MLA from Kota seat, Renu Jogi, wife of for- mer chief min- ister Ajit Jogi who has floated a new political outfit Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (J) to make the assembly con- test a three-way fight in the state. Jogi’s party has allied with BSP and the new alliance has considerable influence in Bilaspur region that has total 24 Assembly seats. The final list of Congress has several surprising names such as little known Kanhaiya Agarwal from Raipur-South seat against powerful BJP can- didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South is considered a complete walkover to Brijmohan Agrawal who is undefeated since he made debut in politics in 1990. Party has fielded Kuldeep Juneja from prestigious Raipur- North seat. He had lost the seat to BJP’s Srichand Sundrani in last assembly polls in 2013. The BJP has fielded Sindhi com- munity leader Sundrani this time too. Congress has also sur- prised many by fielding Sailesh Pandey from Bilaspur seat against senior Minister and BJP candidate Amar Agrawal. In a surprising decision, Congress has replaced its Durg- Rural woman candidate Pratima Chandrakar with Sahu samaj heavyweight and Durg Lok Sabha member Tamradhwaj Sahu. The mineral-rich state where the Congress is out of power for past 15 years, goes to polls on November 12 and 20 to elect the new 90-member State Legislative Assembly. T he Election Commission has taken cognisance of recent Naxal incident in Chhattisgarh and immediately sought detailed report from the concerned high- er officials said Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat while addressing a press conference here on Thursday. Protection would be pro- vided if sought by media per- sons, also, he added. Recently, in a naxal attack, along with jawans, a Doordarshan cameraman was martyred. During the review meeting state and police administration has been directed to take steps to further strengthen the law and order and security scenario in the state, he said. The direction has been issued for further publication of the phone numbers of election observers so that people can directly contact them for dif- ferent issues related to election, Rawat said. He added that Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) should be used for confidence building measures. The vehi- cles have been provided with GPS system. All the polling personnel and CAPF along with state police personnel have been provided the cover- age of cashless medical treat- ment. Even arrangement of air ambulance has been made for immediate shifting. On query of request for not applying indelible ink on fin- ger of voters in tribal areas, Rawat said that as per the threat raised and reason cited, there is no incident as per reported after going through the complete details. So, no such consideration is being made and the polling would be held as normal in Naxal areas. He further said that all the concerns of political parties have been noted and directed the CEO office to ensure that all the complaints and other concerns are dealt on priority basis so that electors can arrive in polling booth with ease to cast their votes. For first time the accessi- bility observers have been deputed said Rawat adding that Pink booths having all per- sonnel as women are also being ensured. RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    10

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

������������������� ����� ���������������������������������� ����������� ��������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������� ���������� ������! �������"

���������� ��� ������������������� !"� # ������� ������ ������ ����������$ ��� ���������%���&� '�����������"��������� ������� �������� � �����������$ ���� ������%���( )�������� ������������ ������� ���������*�����(����%����+��� �%'+�������+�������+����� ������,� ��� �-������������"

��� ���#�� ������������$�������������%��������& ���'�(.+������/��������� ������� ������������������������ �0����� �� ��������������� �������� ����0������ ������� ����������������1������ �$�������� ����������� � ������������ ������ ����������������"��������% � ���������������� �2���������������������� �����%����0���� ���� � �� ���0��������� ������� �������"

����� 34-54&*/

Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister and TDP chief

Chandrababu Naidu onThursday discarded his party’sage-old anti-Congress stanceand called on Congress presi-dent Rahul Gandhji as well sev-eral Opposition leaders in a bidto script a pre-poll Oppositionalliance to take on the BJP.

Naidu’s meeting withRahul came after the TDP andthe Congress joined hands forthe upcoming TelanganaAssembly elections. TheThursday development notonly marks the beginning of anew chapter in the TDP-Congress relationship, but itcould also pave the way foruniting the Opposition partiesahead of the next year’s poll.

From 1990 onward, Naidunever contested any electionwith the Congress, be it State orLok Sabha polls.

Earlier in the day, Naidumet NCP chief Sharad Pawarand National Conference pres-ident Farooq Abdullah here.Naidu also met senior Congressleader Ghulam Nabi Azad atthe Indira Gandhi InternationalAirport here and briefly dis-

cussed about the need to bringall non-BJP political partiestogether. The Andhra PradeshChief Minister also held talkswith former JD(U) leaderSharad Yadav.

Meanwhile, SP chiefAkhilesh Yadav landed in the national Capital foralliance discussion.

This is Naidu’s second visitto Delhi in less than a week. Hehas already held preliminarydiscussions with Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal, BSP chief Mayawati,Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee, Karnataka ChiefMinister HD Kumaraswamyand the DMK leader.

After the meeting, Rahultold the media that the focalpoint is defeating the BJP.

“We have agreed that prin-ciple idea here is to defeat theBJP and to defend democracyand the institutions of thiscountry,” Rahul said standingside by side with Naidu. “Allother ideas will be discussedlater,” he said deflecting a ques-tion of who would be the faceof proposed Oppositionalliance in the next elections.

“It is very clear that cor-ruption is taking place.Institutions that can investigateare being attacked... A properenquiry on what all happened,where the money went andwho did corruption... That iswhat I am pushing very aggres-sively. Nation wants to knowthis,” the Congress presidentsaid.

When asked about the past

bitter and confrontational rela-tions between the Congress andthe TDP, Rahul said, “We have a past. We have bothagreed that we are not going totalk about our past and talkabout our future”.

Naidu, whose entry on thenational scene as a facilitatorsto bring together all the majornon-BJP parties has created asensation and buzz in national politics, said that verysoon the leaders of all thenon-BJP parties were going tomeet to chalk out the futurecourse of action.

“We have to save thisnation and save democracy.That is our mission. I discussedwith Rahulji. In principle weagreed,” he said refusing to go into the troubled past ofthe relations between the two parties.

Backing Naidu’s effort tounite the Opposition, NCPsupremo Sharad Pawar saidnon-BJP parties will come outwith a common minimum pro-gramme to take on theGovernment, while express-

ing concern over “assault” onthe CBI and the RBI.

“If we collectively work tosave democracy, we can defi-nitely save the institutions.Chandrababu (Naidu) will talkto other State political leadersin this regard,” the NCP chieftold reporters.

Alleging that the situationin the country seems to be“deteriorating” day by day asthere is “assault” on institutionslike the CBI and the RBI, hesaid there is a need to work forthe common cause of “savingthe country and democracy”.

A common minimum pro-gramme will be drafted oncethe non-BJP parties come onboard to discuss the matter,Pawar said.

Voicing concern over the“difficult” times the country isgoing through, Abdullah said,“Today, democracy is in dan-ger and people are in danger.That is why we all met anddecided to work out a commonminimum programme to savedemocracy, institutions andthe nation.”

����� 34-54&*/

In an attempt to gauge thepolitical mood close to the

Lok Sabha poll, BJP’s nomi-nated member to the RajyaSabha Rakesh Sinha onWednesday said he may movea private member’s bill in theRajya Sabha demanding theconstruction of a Ram Templein Ayodhya.

Bringing in a privatemember Bill in the UpperHouse by Sinha, an RSS ideo-

logue, is seen as tactical movebecause if the Bill were to beintroduced in the Lok Sabha(where NDA has a clearmajority) the onus would beon the BJP to pass it. By intro-ducing it in the Rajya Sabha,where the ruling NDA is yetnot in commanding position,the BJP would forceOpposition to take a stand forand against the Bill and there-by on the construction of thetemple in the disputed site.

Continued on Page 4

� ������� ��� 34-54&*/

Aday after the SupremeC o u r t - a p p o i n t e d

Environment Pollution ControlAuthority (EPCA) urgedDelhiites to use public trans-port for the first 10 days ofNovember in the wake ofalarming air quality in the city,the North Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NMC) hasstepped up efforts to addressthe menace.

The civic agency sealed

297 factories and warehousesdealing in products such asplastic, rubber and chemicals inMundka, Kamruddin Nagar,Nilothi, Swarn Park, TikariKalan and Ghevra onThursday.

In the last one week, theNMC sealed 516 factories run-ning illegally and polluting theair by emitting poisonous gasesand violating various otherslaid-down norms, said an offi-cial, adding that 219 other fac-tories and warehouses were

sealed in Shahabad Daulatpur,Prahaladpur and Puthkhurdfor running their operation innon-conforming areas.

The official said the DelhiState Industrial andInfrastructure DevelopmentCorporation (DSIIDC) hasprovided a list of such pollut-ing units running in residentialareas. There are over 10,000such units operating from suchareas and action was taken aftera list of these units was pro-vided by the DSIIDC, he said.

� ��� 34-54&*/

The CompetitionCommission of India (CCI)

is looking at algorithms used byairlines to determine fares, aspart of a detailed probe intoalleged fixing of air ticketprices, according to its chiefSudhir Mital.

Currently, the fair traderegulator is investigating alle-

gations of similar pricing aswell as simultaneous increase inticket prices by the airlines. Thecases pertain to steep fluctua-tions in airfares during the Jatagitation in Haryana and floodsin Chennai, among otherinstances, in the last few years.

Mital, chairperson of theCCI, said it is currently look-ing into couple of cases ofalleged price fixing by airlines.

“We are trying to work outthe pricing pattern followed byairlines. Airlines have oftenstated that similarity in airfaresas well as increase in prices isan outcome of demand baseddynamic pricing by the soft-wares used by them.

“Unless and until the issueis examined and looked into indetail, we cannot say much at

Continued on Page 4

����������������� ������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ �������������� �!�������"�#������$�%���&���!�'���������!���()�*�����*+������ �������,������-�����'����$������������'��������������"���������������!���()�*�����*+������,������

��� ������� ������������������������������� �������������������������������� ������������������

� �����)�� ������ � ������0����������� ���� �������������5�6$ ����������� �����%������ ������ ��)���� ��� ����������7�� ���� ������������� ������,�������� ��

� 3������� ������� �$ �����������(�����3����8����������������������������� �������� �6���� ��������������� �����

� ����������������$����'���������� �������0� ���� �����59�:������������;���)

4)���������������� �����"-� ���� ����� �����������������"; ��������������������������% ����������������������� �

����������/������������ ���)�� �����������������$ ��������������7�� ���� ������"��� �����������������������"� % � ��� �0 �����������"7������� ��)�����)����� �

���������������5�( )��������������������������9/�%�5��� ����%/������ ��������":'����������� ���� �������� ������ �%��,�)��� �"+��� � ��$����������3�������������� �������� � ��� � ���<$ ����������������5����9���:

�)�����������������������/� �� ������)��� �0� ��)���� �����% ����������������)������������� ��"$����������93����: ������0� ���������� ������������������������� �������������������

������ �������� ������������ �� ������������ ������ ���� ��������!������

������������������������ �����������������������������

���*����������� �����������'�����*����� �������������������������.�������������.����'�����������!����������������������/�*����� �������.��0�������/������� �/�

� ������� ��� +�/��+

Congress on Thursdayreleased its final list of 18

candidates and replaced a keycandidate, just 24 hours beforethe last date of filing of nomi-nations for the second andfinal phase of polling inChhattisgarh.

C o n g r e s shas dropped itsthree-time sit-ting MLA fromKota seat, RenuJogi, wife of for-mer chief min-ister Ajit Jogiwho has floateda new politicaloutfit JantaC o n g r e s sChhattisgarh (J)to make theassembly con-test a three-wayfight in the state.

Jogi’s partyhas allied withBSP and thenew alliance hasconsiderable influence inBilaspur region that has total 24Assembly seats.

The final list of Congresshas several surprising namessuch as little known KanhaiyaAgarwal from Raipur-Southseat against powerful BJP can-didate and cabinet ministerBrijmohan Agrawal.

The Congress choice ofcandidate for Raipur-South isconsidered a completewalkover to BrijmohanAgrawal who is undefeatedsince he made debut in politicsin 1990.

Party has fielded KuldeepJuneja from prestigious Raipur-North seat. He had lost the seatto BJP’s Srichand Sundrani inlast assembly polls in 2013. The

BJP has fielded Sindhi com-munity leader Sundrani thistime too.

Congress has also sur-prised many by fielding SaileshPandey from Bilaspur seatagainst senior Minister andBJP candidate Amar Agrawal.

In a surprising decision,Congress has replaced its Durg-

Rural woman candidatePratima Chandrakar with Sahusamaj heavyweight and DurgLok Sabha memberTamradhwaj Sahu.

The mineral-rich statewhere the Congress is out ofpower for past 15 years, goes topolls on November 12 and 20to elect the new 90-memberState Legislative Assembly.

���*��*�����1�*������'�,��%!����*�������"�

�� ��������������������������������������������������

��������������������������������������������������� !�����"���������

� ������� ��� +�/��+

The Election Commission hastaken cognisance of recent

Naxal incident in Chhattisgarhand immediately sought detailedreport from the concerned high-er officials said Chief ElectionCommissioner OP Rawat whileaddressing a press conferencehere on Thursday.

Protection would be pro-vided if sought by media per-sons, also, he added.

Recently, in a naxal attack,along with jawans, aDoordarshan cameraman wasmartyred.

During the review meetingstate and police administrationhas been directed to take stepsto further strengthen the lawand order and security scenarioin the state, he said.

The direction has beenissued for further publication ofthe phone numbers of electionobservers so that people candirectly contact them for dif-ferent issues related to election,Rawat said.

He added that CentralArmed Police Force (CAPF)should be used for confidence

building measures. The vehi-cles have been provided withGPS system. All the pollingpersonnel and CAPF alongwith state police personnelhave been provided the cover-age of cashless medical treat-ment. Even arrangement of airambulance has been made forimmediate shifting.

On query of request for notapplying indelible ink on fin-ger of voters in tribal areas,Rawat said that as per thethreat raised and reason cited,there is no incident as perreported after going throughthe complete details. So, no

such consideration is beingmade and the polling would beheld as normal in Naxal areas.

He further said that all theconcerns of political partieshave been noted and directedthe CEO office to ensure thatall the complaints and otherconcerns are dealt on prioritybasis so that electors can arrivein polling booth with ease tocast their votes.

For first time the accessi-bility observers have beendeputed said Rawat addingthat Pink booths having all per-sonnel as women are also beingensured.

��������������"���*������������2������*��������������*�3� ���

���������� ��� ������������������� ��� ����!���" RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

��������� ������������������ ������

����������� ���������������������������������

�&*�' "&!�(�+,-.

���������$���)�����/��/0+,1�������+/��2

������������� ������� ���!�!�"�#��$%� �#&��

#�$�$#�%4�$�&��/3(

�*+4���7-/&5&/#4

&#�'�(�+�'�.437�(*����&;7#7/&�7$��/'�7+�#+7'/+�3

$��� )3 4�=�&&�� >?@A�����������4,���������������

!"��#$��% !&��

�)�$#�*(���+����/&&/54�&�&�$4#7+'/(+�3�-7+�4+�.$'

Page 2: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

������# �������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./

$%�&'()���������������������� ��)����� ������������ ������� !"������������$ ��������������������-������� ��� �/����9�-�/:� �� ���)������ ������� �����6����������������)������������������� ������� ������ ����������� � ��������)��� ���������������������������������"

����)����������� �)� $������������ ��������� !"��$ ��������������+����(�����������������'�������3�������' ��� ����������� ������������ ������)���� �+����������� ��%���������B"C��0����������� ���� ��/������������ ���������������������������������� �)������������ ������� ��������������"

�����5������+6����������������� !"������������$ �����,��5�������BC����������� ������ ���������� ������ ��� �������� � �������������3��� ���+������ �$���8���93+$:"

��������������� ������������� ��� ������ !"������$������������������� ���������$������������� ������$�������������0������������� �� ��� ��"

����� 34-54&*/

Against the backdrop ofChina flexing its muscle in

South China Sea leading to ten-sion with other nations locat-ed on its rim, Army ChiefGeneral Bipin Rawat onThursday said the disputedsovereignty of maritime terri-tories is threatening interna-tional waters.

Making this point here, healso said India has no extra-ter-ritorial ambitions, but its aimis to ensure a conducive exter-nal and internal security envi-ronment for unhindered eco-nomic progress and socio-political development.

Speaking at a seminar on‘Evolving Geo-Politics of theIndo-Pacific Region-Challenges and Prospects,’Rawat said contested sover-eignty of maritime territoriespose a major challenge in EastAsia and the South China Seaand these disputed maritimeboundaries are threateninginternational waters.

Stressing that stability inthe Indo-Pacific region isessential for economic progress,he also said within the Indo-Pacific, the Indian OceanRegion remains India’s prima-ry area of interest adding Indiais committed to uphold andstrengthen the rules-basedorder in Indo-Pacific. He alsosaid “we have no extra-territo-rial ambitions and we have nodesire to transplant our ide-ologies on others.”

Humanitarian AndDisaster Relief (HADR) oper-ations, Search and Rescue(SAR) missions, protection ofvital Sea Lanes ofCommunication, and robustdefence of India’s island terri-tories are major aspects onwhich the Army is investing incapability development towards tri-services efforts,Rawat said.

Australia High

Commissioner to IndiaHarinder Sidhu, said in her address if invited,Australia is willing to join theMalabar Exercise.

“It makes sense forAustralia to exercise withwhom we work closely inIndian and Pacific Oceans,”Sidhu said.

Malabar is a trilateral exer-cise between India, the USand Japan, and Australia is keenon joining the naval drill. Shesaid with shared interest, itsstrategic location in the Indo-Pacific, Australia should also beconsidered in the top ranks ofIndia’s partnerships.

Referring to the maritimedisputes in the Indo-Pacific,Sidhu said Australia has beenconcerned by the pace andscale of China’s activities in theSouth China Sea, includingthe use of disputed beaches andartificial structures for militarypurpose.

Batting for a greater mili-tary cooperation with India,she said for the first time, in its2017 Foreign Policy White

paper, Australia placed India inthe front rank for internation-al partnership. While India hasalways been an important part-ner for Australia, she said thestrategic partnership betweenthe two nations is strongerthan it has ever been.

Highlighting Australia’sstrategic location in the Indo-Pacific, Sidhu said Australiashould also be considered in thetop ranks of India’s partnershipsand called for India andAustralia to agree on a MutualLogistics Support Agreementbetween the two militaries.

On Quad, a group com-prising India, Australia, the USand Japan formed to promoteshared interests in the Indo-Pacific, the envoy said she isoften asked whether it isachieving its objective.

“In my view, it is doingexactly what it was intended todo. The purpose of any dialogue is to build under-standing and deepen sharedinterest. The Quad is intendedto do no more and no less thanthat,” she said.

����� 34-54&*/

Ahead of the Lok Sabhapolls next year, the Election

Commission (EC) has receivedaround 22.3 lakh ballot unitsand 16.3 lakh control units ofthe latest version of electronicvoting machines, M-3.

It is estimated that as manyas 22.3 lakh ballot units, 16.3lakh control units and nearly17.3 lakh VVPATs or papertrail machines will be used forthe 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The number of machinesincludes the buffer stock fortraining as well as replace-ments. These machines wouldbe deployed at the nearly 10.6lakh polling stations acrossIndia in the next parliamentaryelections. The new M3 typeEVM will be used in the com-ing assembly polls in five States.

The Bharat Electronics Ltdand the ElectronicsCorporation of India Ltd weremandated to deliver thesemachines to the poll panel bySeptember 30 “and now thedelivery has been completed,”the official said. The new ‘M3’-type EVM is “tamper-detect”and will stop functioning ifanyone tries to tinker with it.

Another feature of this new M3EVM is self-diagnosis. That is,it can automatically detect anyfault with the software or sys-tem and will show it in the dis-play. According to officials,the Control Unit and BallotUnit can communicate witheach other. If someone plantsa Ballot Unit or Control Unitfrom outside, the digital sig-nature will not match and thesystem would stop functioning.

The M2 or mark 2 typeEVMs (2006-10) can cater to a

maximum of 64 candidates,including NOTA. There is pro-vision for 16 candidates in aballoting unit. If the total num-ber of candidates exceeds 16,more balloting units can beattached up to a maximum of64 candidates by connectingfour balloting units.

However, in case of M3EVMs, which came after 2013,a maximum of 384 candidatesincluding NOTA can be catered to by connecting 24balloting units.

During simultaneous elec-tions, two separate sets ofEVMs are required, one for theparliamentary constituencyand the other for legislativeassembly constituency.

In case of an error with theVVPAT, the machine isreplaced with a reserve. But incase a ballot unit or control unitmalfunctions, the entire set ofballot unit, control unit andVVPAT is replaced.

Till date, EVMs have beenused in 113 Assembly electionsand three Lok Sabha electionssince 2000. Amid demands bysome opposition parties to goback to ballot papers, theCommission has maintainedthat use of EVMs has ended thedays of booth capturing and thedelays and errors in counting ofballot papers.

At a recent all-party meet-ing, several parties had ques-tioned the reliability of votingmachines, alleging that theycould be tampered with.Seventeen opposition partieshave come together to make afresh demand that voters in the2019 Lok Sabha elections exer-cise their franchise by stamp-ing the ballot paper, not press-ing the button on EVMs.

����� 34-54&*/

The Union Home Ministryon Thursday approved a

Safe City project for Lucknowat a total cost of Rs.194.44 croreunder the Nirbhaya FundScheme. The project would beimplemented as a CentrallySponsored Scheme with Centreand State sharing the fundingin 60:40 ratio.

Under this project,Lucknow will have integratedcontrol room, special unit forwomen protection and pinkout posts to tackle atrocitiesagainst women, special desksfor women in each police sta-tions in the city.

“This approval is a part ofMHA’s plans to implement SafeCity projects in eight selectedcities, namely, Mumbai, Delhi,Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru,Hyderabad, Ahmedabad andLucknow under Nirbhaya Fundwith the purpose of strength-ening safety and security ofwomen in public places. Theprojects are being implementedin consultation with Ministry ofWomen and Child

Development, Ministry ofUrban Development, Ministry of Electronic andInformation Technology,respective Municipal & PoliceCommissioners of the citiesand civil society organisations,”the Home Ministry said in astatement.

The Safe City proposal forLucknow, the Lok Sabha con-stituency of Home Minister

Rajnath Singh, will be imple-mented by Uttar PradeshPolice, assisted by theMunicipal bodies and citytransport authorities. The SafeCity project for Lucknow alsoenvisages gender sensitisationawareness campaigns andcapacity building in collabora-tion with community and civilsociety organisations, theHome Ministry said.

����� 34-54&*/

Against the backdrop ofdeteriorating air quality in

the national Capital due to pol-lution, the National BuildingsConstruction Corporation(NBCC) has come out withguidelines to curb pollutionfrom construction sites, includ-ing keeping the ground at con-struction sites wet and cover-ing vehicles that carry con-struction material.

NBCC CMD AnoopKumar Mittal on Thursdaydirected its contractors not touse open trucks and to trans-port building materials only insteel containers, as part ofefforts to reduce dust pollution.

According to reports,around 8 to 10 per cent of thetotal pollution in the city wasdue to construction sites.NBCC is engaged in the rede-velopment of Pragati Maidaninto a state-of-the-art integrat-

ed exhibition-cum-conventioncentre that cost Rs 2,254 croreand redevelopment of sevenGovernment colonies in Delhi.Besides it is also engaged inseveral projects here.

NBCC -- which has anorder book worth Rs 80,000crore -- has directed that trans-

portation of sand, grit, cementand other construction mate-rials would only be in perma-nently closed vehicles coveredby tarpaulin sheets.

“NBCC has made itmandatory to seek approvals ofthe environmental manage-ment plan, inclusive of dust

mitigation measures, beforethe implementation of anybuilding or infrastructure pro-ject requiring environmentalclearance,” Mittal said.

The transportation andstorage of cement and fly ashwould be in closed silos,besides absolute prohibition

of grinding and cutting ofbuilding materials, as per theguidelines.

Sprinkling of water, usingblack top for paving the roadsleading to construction site,washing of truck tyres in addi-tion to controlling the speedlimit of the vehicle and prop-er barricading at project site asper CPCB norms are amongthe other directions.

The guidelines also issuedfor removal of constructionwastages from the work siteimmediately after completion ofconcerned work(s) at site; sprin-kling of water; using black top forpaving the roads leading to con-struction site; washing of trucktyres in addition to controllingthe speed limit of the vehicle;proper barricading at site as perCPCB norms; and availability ofPollution check machines at allwork sites to monitor the pollu-tion level of diesel/petrol/CNGoperated vehicles.

����� 34-54&*/

Describing Congress mediahead Divya Spandana’s

derogatory comments againstPrime Minister Narendra Modias the “arrogance of dynasty”,the BJP on Wednesday sought to assert that instead ofthe bird’s droppings, “it is thevalues of the Congress that aredropping.”

The BJP lash out cameafter Congress’ social mediahead Divya Spandana tweeteda controversial comment alongwith a picture of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi stand-ing next to Sardar Patel’s 182meter tall ‘Statue of Unity’,with the comment: “Is that birddropping?”

“@BJP4India Ummm no, itis the values of the Congress

that are dropping. Historical disdain for SardarPatel + Pathological dislike for @narendramodi =Such language. Clearly,@RahulGandhi’s politics of‘love’! ,” said BJP’s officialTwitter handle.

Asked about the tweet, BJPspokesperson Sambit Patralashed out at the Oppositionparty saying that “this is the realculture” of the Congress.

They miss no opportunityto abuse the Prime Minister ofIndia, he said.

“It is the same party whichcalled the Prime Minister‘neech’. Shashi Tharoor calledhim a scorpion and now DivyaSpandana says that he is a bird’sdropping,” Patra said.

“This is nothing but lan-guage of arrogance from the

Congress for the normal Indianwho with his sheer hardworkbecomes the Prime Minister ofthe country,” he said, adding a normal Indianappears bird’s dropping tothem, while a dynast is powercentre for them.

“This is arrogance ofdynasty which is abusing thedemocracy of India,” he alleged.

Despite criticism from theruling party and Twitterati,Spandana remained defiant.

“When you’re done huffing& puffing take a breath & holda mirror to yourselves. Myviews are mine. I don’t give twohoots about yours. I’m notgoing to clarify what I meant and what I didn’t cosyou don’t deserve one,” shetweeted.

����� 34-54&*/

Citing the latest World Bankreport pushing up India’s

ranking in ‘Ease of DoingBusiness’ to 77th position, theBJP on Thursday maintainedthat this heralds the arrival of“achchhe din” in the country’seconomy.

India has jumped 65 posi-tions from 142 in 2014 to 77now, BJP spokesperson SambitPatra said, adding the countryhas travelled from the “fragilefive” emerging markets to a“fabulous few” in a short spanof time.

The World Bank’s ‘Ease ofDoing Business’ report wasreleased on Wednesday.

“We thank Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for the reform,perform, transform agendathat he has brought into thepolicy of India...Through thisjump in ease of doing business rankings, ‘achchhe din’ (good days) havearrived in the country’s econ-

omy,” Patra said at a Pressconference.

The BJP said this jump inthe ease of doing businessrankings has become possiblebecause of the ModiGovernment’s clear policiesand hard work.

Taking on the Congress,Patra said the party’s tenure wasmarked by “ease of doing cor-ruption” while the country iswitnessing an era of ease ofdoing business under Modi’sleadership.

“It is ease of doing businessverses ease of corruption,” hesaid, adding that India’s ease ofdoing business ranking plum-meted under Congress’ ‘econ-omist’ Prime MinisterManmohan Singh.

On one side were the poli-cies of the Modi Governmentthat were all about clarity andon the other was a confusedand defused Congress presi-dent Rahul, he said.

“This is clarity verses con-fusion,” Patra said.

������������ 34-54&*/

To address the impact of cli-mate change and variabil-

ity on crops, horticulture, live-stock, and fisheries, the IndianCouncil of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR) has taken upa flagship programme NationalInnovations on ClimateResilient Agriculture (NICRA).

According to UnionAgriculture and Farmers’Welfare Minister Radha MohanSingh, the programme is beingtaken up in 151 climatically-vulnerable districts across thecountry by taking one repre-sentative village in each district.The predominant climatic vul-nerabilities addressed aredrought, flood, cyclone, heat

wave, cold wave, frost and hailstorm.

Officials said the ICARhas conducted climate changeimpact analysis on crop yieldsthrough various centres in dif-ferent parts of the countryusing crop simulation models(INFO-CROP and HAD CM3)for 2020, 2050 and 2080. Theresults indicate variability intemperature and rainfall pat-tern with significant impacts oncrop yields. These studies pro-jected reduction in yields ofirrigated rice by about 4 percent in 2020, 7 per cent in 2050and 10 per cent in 2080.

Rainfed rice yields are like-ly to be reduced by 6 per centin 2020, but in 2050 and 2080they are projected to decrease

only marginally (<2.5 per cent).Climate change is projected toreduce timely-sown irrigatedwheat production by about 6per cent in 2020. In case of latesown wheat, however, the pro-jected reductions are to theextent of 18, 23 and 25 per centin 2020, 2050 and 2080 respec-tively. Yields of irrigated kharifmaize may decrease by about18 per cent in 2020 and 2050and about 23 per cent in 2080due to climate change. Rainfedsorghum yields are projected to

decline marginally (2.5 percent) in 2020 scenario and byabout 8 per cent in 2050.

Addressing the Inter-Session Meeting ofConsultative Committee of theMinistry of Agriculture &Farmers’ Welfare, Singh said itsaim is to develop adaptationand mitigation practices tominimise the losses and toenhance resilience of Indianagriculture.

The Minister also said sev-eral States have shown interestin replicating the climateresilient village models. Forexample, the Government ofMaharashtra through WorldBank funding formulated aproject by the name Project onClimate Resilient Agriculture (

PoCRA) with a budget outlayof Rs 4,500 crore being imple-mented in 5,000 villages in thedrought prone villages ofVidharbha and Marathwadaregions of Maharashtra. Severalother State Governments alsoinitiated similar projects of cli-mate resilient agriculture(Karnataka, Odisha andTelangana).

According to economicsurvey of India 2018, thechange in agricultural produc-tivity patterns as a result of cli-mate change could reduceannual agricultural incomesby between 15 per cent and 18per cent on average, andbetween 20 per cent and 25 percent particularly for unirrigat-ed areas.

����������+�����,��-������ �")��.-����

"������ ������#�"$������%&��� �

)������ ��+�-���-������-��� ���-��+

/������������������������>>"D��0����� ������%B@"D��0�� ��� ���������������B="D��0�EE���� ������������������� ���������� ����>FB?& 0������ ���

����� 'D����4E' ��������������� ������������ �������)�������

3� 'D4E'������6���� ���

����� <'D�6����4E'��G������6������H��� ����� ������� �������� �������� ���0�� �����

� ����$����(�����������+� ������������������ )������� ��������������� ������������������������� ��� �����

� ��������������������������/�� 6���������� ������������� ��� � ����� ����%����� ���� ��������/�� 6�������%���/�����7����+�� ��������/����������������� ��������������/������� �������� ��� ����������������������6����� ������/�� 6�������

� +�������� ������������������������/�� 6�������%���������*��$ ������ ���� /����*��������������������������������� ������������������������ �$����������)����������� ���$�������%�������������� ���������������������������������������� ������������� ��

�7("�%&�8�79��:�"7���&��3;�3"7<���&"7�&&

�������������������'��������(���'��)*+

���*��������������������������+����������� ����������,�-.--���������/��'��0����&����

�����1��������������1����� ��%�����*�������"�������������*��!!�����������������4*���������������!��������&���!�������������������.��0�������/������� �/�

���������� �����������/�����0�1���� ��-����.���./

,������*�������������*���������������0�������5������

Page 3: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

�������������#,�������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./

���������� ����������������������������������������������������� ��������������� ������������������������������������������ ��������������� �� ��������������� ����� ��������������������������������������� ����������� ���� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

� ������� ��� +�/��+

Congress party NationalSpokesperson Randeep

Singh Surjewala on Thursdaycharged that chit fund fraudworth �5000 crores occurred inChhattisgarh during the BJPrule in the State.

“Despite FIRs were lodged,no action was being taken inorder to recover the moneyinvested by citizens of the State,he said while addressing apress conference here.

Surjewala said the State

Government had become mutespectator and in the past nineyears, right under the nose ofGovernment around 161 chitfund companies looted thehard earned money of aroundone crore people of the State, hecharged.

A fraud worth more than�5000 crore was committed inwhich 20 lakh families and onelakh agents were duped. Thefraud had claimed 57 lives andeven after more than 300 FIRslodged, not a single penny wasrecovered from fraudsters, he

said.Surjewala further charged

that these fraud chit fund com-panies were given space inGovernment sponsored RojgarMelas (Employment fairs) ofwhich invitation cards werealso distributed by concernedDistrict Employment Officersof districts.

State Home MinisterRamsevak Paikra had partici-pated in the programmes ofSunshine and BPN companiesand, he charged.

People were misled andthey thought that the compa-nies are associated with the BJPgovernment and they reposedtrust on them, Surjewalacharged.

��(2333-�-�������������--���������� �������/

� ������� ��� +�/��+

The representatives of polit-ical parties handed over a

memorandum to ChiefElection Commissioner (CEC)O P Rawat regarding problemsbeing faced by them mainlyconcerning the election cam-paign in Chhattisgarh onThursday.

The representatives alsocame up with various sugges-tions regarding the conduct of

Assembly polls in Chhattisgarhfor the CEC.

Rawat is on a two-day visitto the State as part of the finalround of preparations beforethe polls scheduled in the firstphase on November 12.

The representatives ofpolitical parties held discus-sions on a wide range of issuesincluding law and order,implementation of Model Codeof Conduct, EVM-VVPAT andmonitoring of election expen-

diture among other issues.CEC O P Rawat explained

in detail about various poll pro-cedures and also sought clari-fication from political partieson several issues.

Representatives of IndianNational Congress, BharatiyaJanata Party, Bahujan SamajParty, Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist), CommunistParty of India, Janata CongressChhattisgarh among otherswere present.

'�����( � (��))*�)��)�*))���+�,��'�'

� ������� ��� +�/��+

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)leader and one of claimant

of candidacy for VaishaliNagar Assembly seat, RakeshPandey called on the seniorleaders of the organization toregister his protest.

He on Thursday hadarrived at the Ekatma Parisar,BJP’s divisional office alongwith his sister and party’s tomeet National GeneralSecretary Saroj Pandey BJP’sNational Joint GeneralSecretary (Organisation)Saudan Singh, NationalGeneral Secretary and In-charge of Chhattisgarh DrAnil Kumar Jain and StateOrganization Secretary PawanSai.

Talking to reporters afterthe meeting, Rakesh Pandeysaid, “I had interaction withSaudan Singh, Dr Anil KumarJain and Pawan Sai. I hadplaced before them my pointof view. Recently whateversituation was created, I want-ed to speak about it. It is inter-nal matter of the party.”

Pandey further said“There is no issue of regis-tering my protest. The party

has its own process where thecandidates are selected and inthat my name was a lsoincluded. Through secret bal-lot the party workers’ senti-ments and choice were called.It had conducted its own sur-vey for information.”

He said that the mattercame up that party workerswanted me but problem isthat when a worker wants todo something, then how theparty respect his or her sen-timents and considers.

“It can be taken in any-way. The BJP goes with themeof a party with differenceand that traditions should bemaintained. One prominent

issue was family lineage and

one point of allegation wasraised against me was thefamily relationship as if onesends one arrow, around 40arrow returns back,” he stat-ed.

Further he said that forlast 30 years, he had been theparty worker and would con-tinue to do so. All efforts willbe put by working for theparty’s candidate to win in theelection.

“I have faith that BJPwould come to power oncemore led by Chief Minister DrRaman Singh. It would be onthe basis of 15 years of devel-opmental works undertak-en,” Pandey said.

-"�.�����,���)�/��+�����+������0�.,��(�� 1

� ������� ��� +�/��+

After denial of Congress party ticketfrom Kota, Renu Jogi on Thursday had

reportedly decided to file nomination fromJanata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) (Jogi)JCC (J) on Friday to contest polls from hertraditional Kota assembly seat.

Though, Renu Jogi is still displayingsomewhat reluctance to contest the pollson (JCC) (J) ticket, the party Supremo AjitJogi has already declared her as a candi-date from Kota assembly constituency andin a statement also said that she will filethe nomination papers on Friday.

Commenting on the Congress ticketgiven to Vibhor Singh from Kota, Ajit Jogisaid “Renu had taken membership of JCC(J) and is going to contest polls from Kota.

Notably, the JCC (J) District Presidentof Bilaspur had already purchased a nom-ination paper on behalf of Renu Jogi.

Though Renu Jogi had expressed herignorance over the purchase of nomina-

tion form and had shown her trust onCongress party earlier; but now situationhad changed and her husband Ajit Jogi hadalready declared that she is going to con-test the polls on a JCC (J) ticket.

� ������� ��� +�/��+

The assembly constituencies ofChhattisgarh’s Raipur (West) and

Raipur (South) have been declared as‘expenditure sensitive’ said ChiefElection Commissioner (CEC) O PRawat on Thursday.

Additional and tight monitoring ofthe expenditure being made by the can-didates would be done, he said whileaddressing a press conference hereafter carrying out a review of poll prepa-rations in the State by a full Commissionon Thursday.

On a query on expenditure cap forcandidates but not for party, Rawatreplied that there is a limit for the can-didate but Commission has approachedthe Home Ministry over the issue.

“It has been found that candidatesin cover of party have been spendingmore as the expenditures were beingadded in the party expenses”, he said.

“The matter is under considerationwith the Home Minister, whether to

club the expenditure of individual can-didate and party together and then fix-ing a limit of expenditure, or putting thecap on expenditure of the party also

during the election,” Rawat added.“Now, we have undertaken the

process that if the party advertisementor related publicity material under theparty banner carries the photograph ofthe candidate or any other matter con-cerning individual candidate, then it isadded in the expenditure account of thecandidate,” the CEC pointed out.

Rawat said that cash seizure till dateamounts to Rs 3,67,23,090 when com-pared to Rs 3.33 crore in 2013 whilefreebies total amount is Rs 3,33,24,576against Rs 53,54,477 in year 2013.Similarly, illegal liquor (in litres) of Rs44,706.70 and drugs & narcotics Rs1,76,000 (22.16 kg) had been seized.

Meanwhile, the Commission hasalso directed the local officials toensure effective steps to be taken on pre-venting distribution of cash/tokenand gifts, misuse of liquor and narcot-ic substances during the election processperiod.

� ������� ��� �/&����+

The Congress party workerscreated furore at District

Congress Office here afterdenial of poll ticket to AtalShrivastava.

Shrivastava’s supportersransacked the party office onThursday after the partydeclared the names of candi-dates in the latest list.

The supporters of AtalShrivastava while protesting theallotment of poll ticket to SaileshPandey also locked theCongress District Office andstaged a sit-in outside.

Shrivastava’s supporterswhile talking to reporters also

charged that the poll ticket ofBilaspur was ‘sold’. They madeserious allegation thatChhattisgarh In-charge of AllIndia Congress Committee(AICC), P.L. Punia andChairman of party's ScreeningCommittee 'sold' the party tick-et of Bilaspur.

Notably, Atal Shrivastava’sname came to light during canecharge incident in Bilaspurwhen Congress activistsdumped garbage at residence ofState Minister for UrbanAdministration Amar Agrawal.Shrivastava led the movementand was beaten up by the police.

�,�� ���.�),�.�1)�)*����,��)�� )����'� (��))�������

� ������� ��� +�/��+

Chief ElectionCommissioner (CEC) O P

Rawat on Thursday launchedChhattisgarh –Tracking OfPolling Process Software (C-TOPS) app which will moni-tor the electoral works of dif-ferent political parties con-testing the polls.

The app and the websiteof it will also provide theactivities of electoral team.

It was informed in thelaunching function that theChief Electoral Official of thestate, District ElectoralOfficers in various districts,Returning Off icials andSuperintendent of Police of allthe districts would get updat-ed with the C-TOPPS sharingwebsite and app. Apart fromthem, Sector Officers toowould be connected with thisapp, it was informed.

Tracking of electoral par-ties could also be donethrough it and a gio-tagging is

done in it so that position ofthese parties could be moni-tored. The electoral team sincethey proceed for pollingprocess and till they returncould be monitored throughit.

The C-TOPPS would alsoprovide information aboutthe polling process in pollingbooths and also about thequeue there. The app hasbeen developed byChhattisgarh InfotechPromotion Society (CHiPS).

�#+��5-7+�*'7+4�*�3�CFFF$+7+4-��$7''/��45/3-*/$*>F&��*#�'/&/4��35734&��*

�(43��-4+45��45

%�����-�������./�0������������������������������

��������������������"������

����������������(������

$������������������������������-�0������1�"������������������2�$����

���������������"�"�

�������3���2(������������3��

�������������������-�$������������*�����

��2�$������������

"����������������

��������"���"-������'������������������������������������-�����������"��

� ������� ��� +�/��+

On occasion ofChhattisgarh's Foundation

Day, a programme on'Chhattisgarh and SystematicVoters’ Education and ElectoralParticipation' for awareness ofelectors was organised by ‘MorRaipur Mor Vote’.

Chief ElectionCommissioner O P Rawat administered pledge to youth for using their right to vote.

The event was held nearTelibandha pond in the city.The youth lighted the lamp tomark ‘Diwali for Vote’ whichwas started by lighting thelamp by Rawat.

Addressing the gathering,Rawat appealed to people pre-sent to cast their vote withoutfear and without falling intoany allurement.

The CEC also witnessed

the ‘Rangoli’ made by Personswith Disabilities (PWDs) .

The event was participatedby students from schools, col-leges , workers of NGOs andalso students of LivelihoodCollege. Mor Raipur Club hadstaged street play based ontheme of voting while one vot-ing zone was made where theEVM and VVPAT was kept forthe public.

)����3�����������������)�������������������������2)����������������������"���"��*�40���������5�� ���������������������������������

��"�����(����

������"�������������������������3��

$�������������������

��������������3������������3������

���������"��������

�6��������������������������������

�������6������

4 ������6��7�&���� ����������������5������������"�

'2�#�� ����,��,�������,����+���

�3�,�/�(��)�)�+����&� *�+��� ,�),����� �/''�4/5�,����,

������������ �������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��� !�""���#� ������$��%���#��&''()��*������#��%�'��+,-.//0�� �'����1/00"2...3.4/50/�����������#���*����67'������8���9����� ����8�%�'��+,-.//:�6�����;����������%�������6�����;)����������<� ��&�����;$�(4�������=� ���8�� �����)��>���� �$�8<� ��+""///.������;/""+,/""/,::�������������&�����;?+3"�)�����4�$&@<9�=�������$ �+./"3/"�A(�(�����;/"./+,B0-B//C,B0--//(

Page 4: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

������#!�������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./

����� $*�35/(�+*

Following severe levels of airpollution in Delhi and the

National Capital Region (NCR)that has left people gasping,Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Thursday accusedthe Punjab Government offailing to control stubble burn-ing that has deteriorated the airquality after October 25.

“The national capital haswitnessed abnormal increase inpollution level after October 25and this happens every yeardue to stubble burning duringharvesting season. This is dueto Punjab Government’s failureto stop cases of stubble burn-ing,” said Kejriwal, AAP con-vener while talking to themediapersons here.

Kejriwal, while showingsatellite images of stubble burn-ing in Punjab and Haryana tojustify his claims said that theincidents of stubble burning aremore in Punjab this year thanin Haryana.

“The images show maxi-mum number of cases of stub-ble burning in Bathinda,Amritsar and other districts inPunjab while in Haryana, thisis limited to north Haryana inthe areas around Ambala dis-trict only,” he said amid thepolitical blame game over therising air pollution in thenational capital.

“The satellite image indi-cates stubble burning in sever-al parts of Punjab and therecannot be a more scientificproof than this,” he said whilelashing out at the PunjabGovernment for not providingits farmers enough assistance to

stop cases of stubble burningthis year.

Criticizing the PunjabGovernment and PunjabPollution Control Board(PPCB) for their claims regard-ing decline in stubble-burningcases this Kharif season, theDelhi Chief Minister said thatsatellite images show that stub-ble burning is mostly happen-ing in Punjab.

The quality of air in thenational capital deterioratesevery year after October 25,once the farmers begin burn-ing paddy stubble, he alleged

Continuing his tiradeagainst the neighboring gov-ernment, he said that everyyear this happens betweenOctober 25 and November 20and pollution levels go upsharply in the national capitaldue to stubble burning.

Before October 25, the AirQuality Index (AQI) was below200 but it has suddenly touchedover 400 now. The AQIremained below 200 the entireyear in the national capital butwitness sharp increase duringthe harvesting season, he said.

We cannot blame the pol-lution due to vehicles andindustries in Delhi for the cur-rent situation. This is due tostubble burning only, he added.

Noting that not onlyDelhites but residents of thenational capital region includ-ing Gurugram, Noida,Ghaziabad and surroundingplaces are also suffering due tothe poor air quality, the AAPconvener said that everyonewill have to work responsiblyand collectively to address theissue.

12��� �/ ���+��2�/����3 ��4������ �����

�)��������(%$%7�

'�� (�����(*�������� ��* 3���'� (��))�

����� $*�35/(�+*

Eyeing 2019 Lok Sabha andAssembly polls in Haryana,

Delhi Chief Minister and AAPconvenor Arvind Kejriwal onThursday went on to chal-lenge his Haryana counterpartManohar Lal Khattar over thework done by their respectiveState Governments in the lastfour years.

“When I visited Haryanarecently, I witnessed poor infra-structure of schools, hospitals,roads and even electricity facil-ity. In Delhi, we have workedfor improving schools, hospi-tals and other facilites,” he saidwhile talking to the mediaper-sons here.

Promising to emulate the‘Mohalla Clinic model’ of Delhiin Haryana if the AAP is votedto power in the next assemblyelection, Kejriwal said, “Peopleshould decide whether to shunthe party that sought votes inthe name of temple andmosques and to support theone which worked for buildingschools and hospitals.”

Preparing for the Haryanaassembly elections with a mes-sage of building a “NewHaryana”, Kejriwal had visitedthe state for several times in thepast three months to reach outto the general public. He hasaddressed public meetings,held roadshows and visitedschools of Haryana.

The party has planned tocontest on all 10 Lok Sabhaseats from Haryana and also,on all 90 assembly seats, elec-tion for which are due laternext year Eyeing a win in theHaryana Assembly polls nextyear, Kejriwal is hard selling hisAAP led Delhi Government’sachievements in the field ofeducation and health sectors to

the voters of Haryana.With Haryana’s proximity

to AAP ruled Delhi and thestate being Kejriwal’s homestate, the AAP leaders feel thatthe party can benefit from var-ious factors including a politi-cal vacuum in Haryana at pre-sent. Speaking here on thestate’s foundation day, beingcelebrated as ‘Haryana Diwas’,the AAP convener onThursday alleged that everysection of the society in thestate is unhappy with theCongress, the Indian NationalLok Dal (INLD) and the rulingBharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

These parties have ruledthe state for over 50 years now.While the Congress, INLDand the BJP regimes had failedto perform in Haryana, hisAAP government had broughtrevolutionary changes in thenational capital, Kejriwalclaimed.

52 years have passed sincethe formation of Haryana butstill the expectations of peopleof the state remain unfulfilled,he added. Accusing the politi-cal parties to play a politics ofcaste, the AAP convener saidthat they talk about Jats,Baniyas, Pandits …. All theseparties have been dividing thestate on caste lines by eitherwooing Jats or non Jats, healleged. “Till now, the INLDand Congress were seekingvotes from Jats and BJP fromnon Jats. Not even a singleparty had sought votes forproviding good education andhospital services, better infra-structure and power,” Kejriwalsaid. The Delhi Chief Ministerfurther alleged that under theerstwhile INLD Government,the state's law and order wentfor a toss while Congressregime was no better and

indulged in land grabbing andcorruption.

Both INLD and Congressare witnessing infighting todayand have nothing to offer to thepeople of Haryana, he said.

Slamming Manohar Lalfor calling Mohalla Clinics asHalla clinics, Kejriwal chal-lenged him to visit any five clin-ics in the national capital.

If he accepts my challenge,I will also accompany him tovisit Haryana's dispensaries onNovember 12. I will also bewriting a letter to the ChiefMinister in this regard, headded.

On the Sutlej-Yamuna Linkcanal issue, Kejriwal said hisparty will abide by what theSupreme Court decides as heslammed the BJP and theCongress of failing to resolvethe contentious issue.

Continuing his tiradeagainst the BJP led HaryanaGovernment, the Delhi CMSaid that farmers are unhappyas they are not getting com-pensation for their damagedcrops and remunerative pricesfor their crops, youths are dis-appointed and schools, hospi-tals are in dilapidated condi-tion. Notably, the AAP hasplanned to quote the ‘DelhiModel’ and list the achieve-ments of the Kejriwal led DelhiGovernment to woo the votersin Haryana.

After tasting defeat at thehustings in the previous LokSabha polls from Haryana, theAAP had not contested theOctober 2014 assembly elec-tions in the state.

In the previous parlia-mentary polls held in 2014,AAP had lost on all 10 LokSabhaseats in Haryana andmost of its candidates had fin-ished at fourth or fifth position.

�����89:;�����������<������

����� $*�35/(�+*

Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Thursday announced to endthe practice of Lal Dora in thevillages and said that now theproperty could be registeredbesides maintaining their rev-enue records.

Announcing bonanza ofincentives for the people of thestate on the occasion ofHaryana Day, the ChiefMinister said old age pension,widow pension and Divyangpension have been increased to�2,000 per month.

Addressing Jan VishwasRally in Panipat, the ChiefMinister said that now all for-mer Sarpanches, Presidents ofZila Parishad and Block Samitisin the state would get month-ly pension of �1,000 and max-imum pension of �2,000 ashonorarium for one tenure.Tenure of two-and-a-half yearsand above would be consideredcomplete tenure.

Manohar Lal alsoannounced to give pension ashonorarium of �2,500 to all for-mer Mayors of all MunicipalCorporations for every tenureand �2,000 each to formerSenior Deputy Mayor, formerDeputy Mayor and Head ofevery Municipal Council foreach tenure. Former Heads ofMunicipalities would get�1,000 per month for eachtenure. This pension would begiven for maximum of twotenures and till the age of 60years. Tenure of two-and-a-halfyears and above would be con-sidered complete tenure.

The Chief Ministerannounced to give an insurancecoverage of �10 lakh by thestate government for thoseemployees working on haz-ardous jobs like lineman, assis-

tant lineman, fireman, sewer-man, fire driver and others inany of the government depart-ment, board, corporation andurban local bodies. In addition,the benefit of this schemewould also be given to all reg-istered sewer men.

He said that on November20,2017, the state governmenthad provided all Haryana gov-ernment employees the cash-less treatment facility for sixtypes of ailments. Now thefacility has been extended to alldiseases and its treatmentexpenses would be cashless. Hesaid that now the studentsstudying in ITIs, polytechnics,colleges and universities neednot make rounds of govern-ment offices for making drivinglicense.

All desiring students wouldget learning license for drivingfrom the Principals of theirrespective institutions and dri-ving tests for permanent dri-ving license would also betaken in their respective insti-tutions and the certificate ofpassing the driving test wouldalso be issued in their respec-tive institutions.

The Chief Minister saidthat in the last four years of thepresent government, 2,279 kms

long new roads have been con-structed and approval has beengiven for the construction of1505 kms new roads. On whichwork is in progress.

Congratulating the peoplefor the completion of KMPexpressway, he said that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi wouldinaugurate the expressway onNovember 10.

The Chief Minister alsoannounced 36 developmentprojects of �78 crore for the vil-lagers of Panipat. Manohar Lalsaid that a lot of works couldhave been done in 48 years inthe state.

Every government hasdone work be it less or more,but there are some works whichhave only been done by thepresent government.

Those works could havebeen carried out earlier also,but either they had no intentionor they remain engrossed incorruption. "We have broughtchanges in the system which isbenefitting the people of thestate. Through Antyodaya cen-ter, Atal Seva Kendras andGram Sachivalayas, the peopleare getting the benefit of 400schemes of different depart-ments online, under one roof,"he said.

��� � �*���34�-�+

In an effort to lay the ground-work for building a sustain-

able mobility ecosystem, OlaMobility Institute, the researchand outreach arm of Ola,released India’s first Ease ofMoving Index 2018.

Findings from the reportreveal that public transport inBhubaneswar has the secondhighest perceived reliability.

The report seeks to offer acomprehensive action plan forcities to further strengthentheir public transportation sys-tems and improve the overallstate of mobility.

The report was released byUnion Minister, RoadTransport and Highways,

Shipping and Water Resources,River Development and GangaRejuvenation Nitin Gadkari, inthe presence of co-founderand CEO of Ola BhavishAggarwal, amongst other keydignitaries.

With mobility needs beingcity-specific, the report surveysover 43,000 respondents from20 cities spanning across thelength and breadth of the coun-try.

Gadkari said, “The ease ofmoving index is a commend-able effort to assess the state ofmobility for cities.

This report has importantinformation that can help pub-lic stakeholders, city adminis-trators and city planners inmaking smarter decisions toaddress pollution, congestion,and safety, and in buildingdynamic solutions to improvemobility for citizens at large.”

Aggarwal said, “The ‘Ease

of Moving Index’ helps usbegin to assess the importanceof mobility for cities and citi-zens.

The Ola Mobility Institutewill work on projects to helpmobility contribute to eco-nomic development.”

7&�<4��47#'7E/3(/354I�+4&4��45

�+�/ ������������������� ��/ ����)��/������

�((�+-�&��/5%<�*4<4��47#'7E/3(

/354I�*4&�����4(/3�7���4���*4/'�7+��3$47#

'7�/&/�;#7+$/�/4��35$/�/J43�"�*47&�'7�/&/�;/3��/���4-/&&-7+�73

�+7�4$���7*4&�'7�/&/�;$73�+/���4

�74$737'/$54E4&7�'43��

����� 34-54&*/

The CBI on Thursday justi-fied before the Delhi High

Court the alleged bribery FIRagainst its Special DirectorRakesh Asthana and claimedthat “several incriminating doc-uments have been unearthed”during the ongoing probeagainst him.

During hearing of a plea byAsthana and his deputyDevender Kumar Kumar forquashing of the FIR againstthem before the HC, the CBIsaid, “This court categoricallyheld that when an FIR is chal-lenged by way of a writ petition,more particularly, inPrevention of CorruptionCases, allegations in the FIR areto be seen whether they disclose the cognisableoffence or not and the rovingenquiry at this stage is imper-missible.”

“It is submitted that the FIRand the complaint clearly dis-closes the cognisable offencesand accordingly the CBI hasregistered the FIR and pro-ceeded with the investigation,”the agency further contended.

The agency told the HighCourt that there cannot be aroving enquiry now as theprobe was at the nascent stage

and several incriminating doc-uments and role of other per-sons was under investigation.

“It is submitted that theinvestigation is at nascent stage.Being at this threshold, it maynot be in the interest of theinvestigation to disclose variousaspects or revelations orunearthed events,” the CBI said.

Meanwhile, the HighCourt extended till November14 its order directing the CBIto maintain status quo on pro-ceedings against Asthana,implying that the agency willnot take any coercive stepsagainst him.

“The interim order to con-tinue till the next date of hear-ing, that is, November 14,”said Justice Najmi Waziribefore whom the CBI opposedAsthana’s plea seeking quash-ing of the FIR, statingthat there was incriminatingmaterial against the specialdirector in the case, the inves-tigation of which was at thenascent stage.

Responding to the peti-tions by Asthana and Kumar,the CBI said it was “handi-capped” in its probe againstthem as the case files and doc-uments have been sent to theCVC for scrutiny followingthe Supreme Court’s order

directing the anti-corruptionwatchdog to complete aninquiry against CBI DirectorAlok Kumar Verma byNovember 12.

The CBI had on October15, registered a criminal caseagainst Asthana, Kumar andtwo private persons on a com-plaint from Hyderabad-basedbusinessman Satish Sana, asuspect in the Moin Qureshicase involving alleged briberyby former CBI Director APSingh and others.

The proceedings also wit-nessed a controversy whenthere was a verbal spat betweentwo advocates as to who willrepresent the CBI in the mat-ter.

Additional SolicitorGeneral Vikramjit Banerjee,who came for the first timesince the matter came up forhearing in the High Court onOctober 23, said he has beeninstructed to appear for theCBI.

Advocate KRaghavacharyulu, who hasbeen appearing for the CBI,opposed the presence ofBanerjee, contending that hehas been appointed by theagency to represent it from thebeginning when the petitionwas filed by Asthana.

��$,��������������� $�� ����)�����

From Page 1Close to the Lok Sabha

polls, the issue may help theBJP build tempo for the LokSabha campaign in Uttar Pradesh where the polit-ical debate on the Ram tem-ple has already been revivedeven as the Supreme Court also to decide hearing on it,early next year.Tweeting abouthis Bill, Sinha challenged lead-ers of Opposition parties toclarify their stand on the Ramtemple.

Will @RahulGandhi@ S i t a r a m Y e c h u r y@laluprasadrjd Mayawati jisupport Private member billon Ayodhya? They frequentlyask the date ‘tarikh nahinbatayenge ‘ to @RSSorg@BJP4India ,now onus onthem to answer.

“Jo log BJP, RSS ko ulah-na dete rehete hain ke RamMandir ki tareekh batayeinunse seedha sawall kya vemere private member bill kasamartham karenge? Samayagya hai doodh ka doodhPaani ka Paani karne ka.@ R a h u l G a n d h i

@ y a d a v a k h i l e s h@ S i t a r a m Y e c h u r y@laluprasadrjd @ncbn,” Sinhatweeted. (To the people whotaunt RSS and BJP and ask forthe date of Ram Temple con-struction, I ask them, will yousupport my private memberbill on the issue?)”, Sinha said.

Sinha further claimed thatthe Ayodhya matter is not apriority for the SupremeCourt. “How many days SCtook to give a verdict onArticle 377, Jallikattu,Sabarimala? But Ayodhya isnot in priority for decades anddecades. It is a top priority ofHindu society,” he said inanother Tweet.

The BJP and the RSS hasmade it clear that temple issueis in their priority list with RSSChief Mohan Bhagwat recent-ly stating that the constructionof the temple was necessary forremoving misgivings betweenHindu and Muslim commu-nity. RSS leader ManmohanVaidya also said on Tuesdaythe Government shouldacquire land, bring in a lawand construct the Ram temple.

� ������� ��� 34-54&*/

A30-year-old cab driver wasarrested by the Delhi Police

for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl, a resident of MadhuVihar area in East Delhi, whomhe had been dropping to schoolfor the past three months,police said Thursday.

According to a complaintreceived by police, the allegedincident took place inSeptember 2018 but the girlkept quiet as she was apparentlythreatened by the accused, aneighbour, to not to reveal thehappening.“The incident cameto light after the school teacherinformed the girl’s parents thatshe missed the school on one

occasion in September follow-ing which her parents con-fronted her. The girl crackedand narrated her ordeal,” asenior police official siad.

“During our investigationit was revealed that the accusedhad befriended the girl and oneday instead of dropping her toschool, he took her to hishouse where he allegedly rapedher,” said the senior policeofficial.

“A case has been regis-tered under the relevant sec-tions of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) and POCSO (Protectionof Children from SexualOffences) Act. Investigation isgoing on,” the senior police offi-cial said.

��//�������������/����������� � ������ ��������

������������ (�-�*��/

Five people were killed andtwo others injured in east-

ern Assam’s Tinsukia district onThursday evening after ter-rorists dressed in Army fatiguesfired randomly at a group ofpeople belonging to a particu-lar linguistic minority com-munity at Kheraibari areaunder Dhola, police said.

Later, one more injureddied in the hospital taking thedeath toll to five, said police,adding that it suspects thehands of anti-talk faction of Ulfamilitants behind the incident.

Assam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal stronglycondemned the killing of inno-cent people near Dhola inTinsukia district which bordersArunachal Pradesh and is located about 485 km east of Assam’s capital townGuwahati.

The CM asked asked StateWater Resources MinisterKeshav Mahanta and Ministerof State (Power) Topon Kumar Gogoi to rush to theincident site to take stock of thesituation.

�����$'����������� � ����� ���� ����������0����� ���� ������ �������5� ���������0����������

4����������)��.���� ��0���(��)��

����,�������6�������,�� ��� �.��(�)7�8��,,��

�������������� $*�35/(�+*

With the crucial Lok Sabhapolls just a few months

away, Punjab Congress is all setto witness a change of guardsoon.

Aimed at giving a freshstart to the party in some of thestates while ending infightingin others, the Congress highcommand has started theprocess of searching the newstate presidents in five states,including Punjab.

Besides Punjab, the partymay also appoint new PradeshCongress Committee presi-dents in the neighbouringstates of Delhi, Haryana,Himachal Pradesh along withMumbai. Punjab Congresspresident Sunil Jakhar, who isalso Member of Parliamentfrom Gurdaspur, is set to seekre-election in the ensuing 2019Lok Sabha polls. “After hiselection as MP fromGurdaspur, Jakhar has beenjuggling between two roles —that of the state party chief andan MP — which has, at least tosome extent, affected the partyin Punjab,” a senior Congressleader requesting anonymitytold The Pioneer, while con-firming that he may soon bereplaced.

However, at the same time,the leader maintained thatJakhar has been effective in his

role as state unit president, andhas worked as a bridge betweenthe party and the government.The leader submitted that forparliamentary polls, scheduledfor the next year, a full-timeactive state president is whatthe party need to lead from thefront, and if Jakhar wanted tore-contest from Gurdaspur LokSabha seat, he would not beable to devote much time to theorganisational affairs in thestate.

Notably, the Congress isleaving no stone unturned toreturn to power, and the newparty presidents would betasked with immediate revivalof the organisation position inthese states ahead of 2019polls.

It has been learnt that theannouncement for the newPunjab Pradesh CongressCommittee (PPCC) presidentwould be made by Novemberonly. It may also be possiblethat the party may appoint aworking president.

For the coveted post, nameof party’s senior Dalit leaderand MLA Raj Kumar Verka isdoing the rounds. Despitebeing the Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh staunch loy-alist, Verka failed to make it tothe State Cabinet, which mayeventually go in his favour forelevation as the party’s stateunit chief.

������������������������ �����������555

�83����<��+��������%H'����� ����/���������)�� "�������)�������������� ����0���������0������������������)�����������������������"4��������������%� ��������������+���������� ������� ���������������( )����������������������������������������������"���$$/���������������������� 0������) �)�������� �� ����������������������������������������� ������ ����$������"

-���������������� �� 0������������>FB@%����� �� ���������>FBC" G���������% �� ���� ����� 0�� ��� �� �� �� ���������� �������� � ��������� �������� � � ������� � ��� ���� ���� ��� ����� ������ �� ����� 0�����0��������� �������� ������������%� ��,�����%� �������������������� ������������ ������������������ � �������� ��� ������%H'��������"��������� ��� ������ �� ��� �� �� � ���5����� �(������95(:% �����������)������� ����"(��������%����� �������$$/���� ��������6������)������ �)� ��6�� �� � � ������� � � ��� ����������� � ��� 5( � � � ���������� ��"

�� ������...

Page 5: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

�����#8�������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./

)('))$%7)('))$%77�'���

��� ����=���������� ����)������������8�&� �������8�������������6���������� �� ��� ���� ����/�������� ���������������� ����������������������� �� ���� ������ )������ ���������������� �����)�)� ���������"

��������� ���� �����������������">"7<��$���������������I�������������4����)�� ���������������)�� �������8$���� ���������%���������� ���$��������������� ������ ������������ ����������������� ���� ��� ������"

����������� ���������+/������������73�?�"<�8"�@���������B>��)������ ���0���������������� 0 *�����������������0��������� )��������������� ��� ������������������ ��� ��������� ����������3�����%��)������������������������� �� ���������"

������� ������������ ���� ����3!�77�&'�8<������+/$����� ����)���������������� �� ����������������)������������������������ ������ �"

�� � �4/�/3(

China and America are“competitors but not adver-

saries,” US Sen LamarAlexander told ChinesePremier Li Keqiang onThursday, despite a spirallingtrade war and other tensionsthat have pushed relations totheir lowest point in years.

The upbeat message at theirmeeting in Beijing came amidconcerns that the US-Chinatrade dispute will drag on,hurting company profits andthe overall US economy.Tensions have also arisen overChina’s claims to Taiwan andthe South China Sea, allegationsof Chinese theft of commercialsecrets and accusations of med-dling in American politics.

Coming a week ahead ofthe US midterm elections, thevisit by Alexander at the headof a seven-member delegationof Republican senators andcongress members seemed allthe more extraordinary. Allare strong supporters of USPresident Donald Trump, whohas slapped tariffs on USD 250billion on Chinese productsand threatened much more.

���� '�&4

The first democratically elect-ed president of the Maldives

returned home Thursday aftermore than two years in exile toescape a long prison term.

The plane carryingMohamed Nasheed from SriLanka landed in Maldives’ cap-ital, Male, where he was wel-comed by his party membersand supporters.

He planned to address hissupporters later Thursday.

Nasheed was sentenced to13 years in jail in 2015 afterbeing convicted of terrorism forordering the arrest of a topjudge in 2012 while he waspresident.

His trial was criticisedinternationally for lack of dueprocess, along with those ofmany other political opponentsjailed by strongman PresidentYameen Abdul Gayoom’sadministration.

He was offered asylum inBritain when he travelled therefor medical treatment on leavefrom prison.

Nasheed’s return followsYameen’s defeat in theSeptember 23 presidential elec-tion by Ibrahim MohamedSolih, the candidate ofNasheed’s MaldivianDemocratic Party.

Since Yameen’s defeat,courts have freed or granted bailto some of the jailed officials.

���� �47�&9�7��*�7+4�:

South Korean PresidentMoon Jae-in said Thursday

that North Korean leader KimJong Un will “soon” visit Seoulas part of a series of high-pro-file diplomatic efforts aimed atridding North Korea of itsnuclear weapons.

Moon said in a speech toparliament that a second NorthKorea-US summit is also “nearat hand” and that ChinesePresident Xi Jinping is expect-ed to visit North Korea soon.

Moon also said he expectsKim to visit Russia soon andthat Kim may meet withJapanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe.

Moon has previously saidthat Kim told him he wouldvisit Seoul within this yearwhen the leaders met inPyongyang, North Korea’s cap-ital, in September.

South Korea’s presidentialoffice said it had nothing to addto Moon’s speech about Kim’strip. His comments were in linewith previous statements, it said.

They suggest that Moon isdetermined to push ahead withdiplomacy to resolve thenuclear issue.

“Now, based on firm trustamong one another, South andNorth Korea and the United

States will achieve completedenuclearisation and lastingpeace on the KoreanPeninsula,” Moon said.

“This is an opportunitythat has come like a miracle. It’ssomething that we shouldnever miss.”

The prospects for a secondsummit between Kim and USPresident Donald Trumpimproved after Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo made hisfourth visit to North Korea ear-lier this month.

But no breakthrough hasfollowed. US officials haverecently said a second Trump-Kim summit will likely happenearly next year.

Some experts have raiseddoubts over whether Kim’sSeoul trip will occur byDecember.

Moon, a liberal who tookoffice last year, favours a nego-tiated resolution to thedecades-long internationalstandoff over North Korea’snuclear ambitions.

He has facilitated a series ofhigh-level US-North Koreaexchanges, including their firstsummit in Singapore in June.

But Moon has faced grow-ing outside skepticism overwhether his engagement poli-cy will eventually settle thenuclear standoff.

� ��� -��*/3(�73

Days before the crucial mid-term elections, US

President Donald Trump hasposted a divisive campaignadvertisement on his Twitteraccount which he hopes wouldboost the Republican party’scampaign.

The controversial video,now pinned to the top of hissocial media feed, blames theDemocrats for “letting in” LuisBracamontes - an undocu-mented immigrant fromMexico who killed two policeofficers in Sacramento in 2014.

Bracamontes, who had pre-viously been deported twice,was sentenced to death for themurders earlier this year.

The video -- produced forthe Trump campaign -- andposted by President Trumpshows Bracamontes grinning incourt and threatening to “killmore cops soon”.

The ad recalls the notori-ous “Willie Horton” campaignad financed by supporters ofthe George H.W. Bush cam-paign in the 1988 presidentialelection. Horton was a con-victed murderer who commit-ted rape while furloughedunder a programme inMassachusetts whereDemocratic nominee MichaelDukakis was governor.

�3 3�'3�����&��0�����������'������������������������� ������������� �' ����% ��������������������%�� )� ����� ������ �)������������ ������������0�������'�������+����-��0���������������������'������+�����0��"�������� ����������������� �������������� �������������� ��� �)������������� ����������������������3 )�����B@%����������� ��� +�����0��� ��������� �� )����� �+����������" ���

� ���-��*/3(�73

The US has warned of “swift”and “severe” retaliatory

action in case of any foreignmeddling in the crucial mid-term polls as the America’sintelligence communityWednesday expressed its con-cern over ongoing electioninterference campaign by for-eign actors, in particularRussia, China and Iran.

In the November 6 mid-term elections, Americanswould elect 435 members of theHouse of Representatives and35 of the 100 Senate seats inCongress.

The US has said that theforeign interference in the USelections is a threat to America’sdemocracy.

The intelligence commu-

nity is concerned about ongo-ing interference campaigns byRussia, China, and other foreignactors, including Iran, to under-mine confidence in the demo-cratic institutions and influencepublic sentiment and govern-ment policies, a senior intelli-gence official told reporters.And, as such, identifying andpreventing this interference isa top priority for the federalgovernment, the official said.

The US has said that it willtake severe action against thosetrying to interfere with the polls.

“If there is interference inthat, that fundamentally wrecksthe natural process that we haveestablished in this country,and really undermines what wewould be looking at. That hasto be met with swift and severeaction,” the official said.

Washington: President DonaldTrump has alleged that the “far-left media” in the US usestragedy to sow anger and divi-sion in the society, saying itspreads fake news which is theenemy of the people.

The President, who hasbeen at loggerheads with sev-eral mainstream media outletsincluding CNN, ABC News,The New York Times and TheWashington Post, has quiteoften described them as “fakemedia”.

Referring to his visit to thePittsburg synagogue where 11people were killed, Trump said:“Yesterday’s visit to Pittsburghwas about coming together asa nation to comfort and to heal.After this day of unity andtogetherness, I came home andsadly turned on the news andwatched as the far-left mediaonce again used tragedy to sowanger and division”.

Chants of “CNN sucks”broke out at Trump’s electionrally in Florida Wednesdaynight as Trump doubled downhis attack on what he said arethe “far-left media”. PTI

� ��� -��*/3(�73

Intensifying his pre-electionanti-immigration push,

President Trump has said hemay send 15,000 troops to theUS southern border to keep aslow-moving caravan of LatinAmerican migrants from enter-ing thecountry, butrejected alle-gation thathe was fear-mongeringon the issue.

Tr u mphas vowed not to let the cara-van of people from three LatinAmerican countries — ElSalvador, Guatemala andHonduras — enter the US.

“We have about 5,800(troops deployed on the bor-der). We’ll go up anywherebetween 10,000 and 15,000military personnel, on top ofBorder Patrol, Immigrationand Customs Enforcement,and everybody else at the bor-der,” Trump told reporters atthe White House.

� ��� -��*/3(�73

President Donald Trump hassaid that no constitutional

amendment was required to doaway with the birthright citi-zenship — the process bywhich babies born in the coun-try to the non-US nationalsautomatically become citizens— as this can be done with anexecutive order, bringing histough stance on immigrationahead of the crucial mid-termelections next Tuesday.

In his latest hardline immi-gration rhetoric, the USPresident had on Tuesdayexpressed his intention to takethe path of executive order todeny automatic citizenship tochildren born of non-American parents in the US,saying the birthright citizenship“has to end”.

“Birthright citizenship is avery, very important subject. Inmy opinion, it’s much lesscomplex than people think. Ithink it says it very loud andclear in the Constitution thatyou don’t have to go throughthe process of whatever they’retalking about,” Trump told

reporters at the White Houseon Wednesday.

“You don’t need aConstitutional amendment forbirthright citizenship. I believethat you can have a simple votein Congress or it’s even possible— in my opinion, this is aftermeeting with some very talent-ed legal scholars — that you cando it through an executiveorder,” said the US President.

At the same time, Trumpsaid his first preference wouldbe to make the changesthrough the Congress, whichwould be a permanent thing. “Iwould rather do it throughCongress because that’s per-manent. But I really believe wecan do it through executiveorder,” he said.

Trump said that the issuewould be ultimately decided bythe Supreme Court.

“Just so you understand, aperson comes in — was neverin our country before — has ababy, now all of a sudden thebaby’s a US citizen. Andthrough chain migration andother things, many other peo-ple come in through the baby,it’s ridiculous,” Trump said.

Los Angeles: A synagogue inCalifornia was defaced withanti-Jew graffiti, police said onWednesday, in an attack thattook place just days after 11people were gunned down at aPittsburg synagogue.

Allen Berezovsky, presi-dent of the board at Beth Jacobsynagogue in Irvine, south ofLos Angeles, said staff discov-ered the vandalism in earlymorning.

He told AFP the words“(expletive) Jews” and “Jews”were spray-painted on the whitefacade of the building.

Berezovsky said securityfootage showed an individualwearing a hoodie, sunglassesand a surgical facemask jump-ing over the fence of the syna-gogue around 1:18 am andthen leaving on a bicycle stolenat the premises.

“The Irvine PoliceDepartment and our own secu-rity have done a full sweep ofthe entire facility and nothingwas found other than the graf-fiti,” he said in a statement to hiscongregation.

“We are continuing to doeverything we can to makeour campus more secure, andwe will continue to promote themessage that we are strongerthan hate.” AFP

� ��� -��*/3(�73

President Donald Trumpsaid on Wednesday in a

presidential memorandum thathe had determined there wassufficient supply of petroleumand petroleum products forcountries to “significantly”reduce their purchase of crudeoil from Iran, which is goingface US sanctions fromNovember 5.

In May, Trump had pulledout of the 2015 landmarknuclear deal, the JointComprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA) terming it as “disas-trous”. Under the Obama-eradeal, involving five permanentmembers of the United NationsSecurity Council and Germany,Iran had agreed to stop itsnuclear programme inexchange of relief from eco-nomic sanctions.

Moments after coming outthe deal Trump had signedfresh set of sanctions againstIran and warned countriesagainst any cooperation withTehran on its controversialnuclear weapons programme.

In his presidential deter-

mination, Trump said “there isa sufficient supply of petrole-um and petroleum productsfrom countries other than Iranto permit a significant reduc-tion in the volume of petrole-um and petroleum productspurchased from Iran by orthrough foreign financial insti-tutions.”

Trump’s presidential deter-mination, not an executiveorder but a kind of directiveissued by the White House tothe members of his admin-stration on some policy mat-ters, comes less than 100 hoursbefore the deadline set by himfor countries like India to bringits purchase of oil to zero fromIran by November 4.

India has expressed its dif-ficulties in doing so given thegalloping energy needs of its 1.3billion people. More than 80per cent of India’s energy needsare imported. But at the sametime, India has taken steps toreduce its oil purchase fromIran, which has alreadydeclined substantially.

Recently, senior US offi-cials were in India for talks inthis regard. However, US offi-

cials are tightlipped on theissue.

The White House also didnot immediately responded toquestion if India’s oil purchasereductions from Iran would beconsidered significant. Trumpsaid he will continue to moni-tor the situation.

Secretary of State MikePompeo on Wednesday said,on the Laura Ingraham Show,that on November 5, the USwill put back in place sanctionsthat will be very severe on theleadership of Iran. He hopedthat this will convince them tochange their ways.

Pompeo, on the anothershow, said that Iran was theworld’s largest state sponsor ofterror. “They were squanderingthe people’s money, the Iranianpeople’s money, on these sillymalign activities. And oureffort is to get them to changethat behaviour”.

State Department DeputySpokesperson Robert Paladinotold reporters that onNovember 5, at 12:01, sanctionsthat were lifted under the Irannuclear deal will come backinto full effect.

����+"6��� ��++�.�������-����+�������$���

.���������!��!���!�������*�����������*����2�����3��#/�&

������������������������� ������ ����� ��������� �

����+���� �1�������������/�!�� ��2���������4�

�� ���� ���� ����� ����������� ������ ����������� ���������� �������������

�����=������������������ ����� ����������������A ��������

<$����%��� ������ ������ ���)���������

Hodeida (Yemen): Over sevenmillion children face a seriousthreat of famine in Yemen andending the country’s war will notsave all of them, the UN chil-dren’s agency said.

“Today, 1.8 million chil-dren under the age of five arefacing acute malnutrition, and400,000 are affected by severeacute malnutrition,” said GeertCappelaere, regional directorof UNICEF.

“More than half” of the 14million people at serious risk offamine in the impoverishedcountry are children, Cappelaeretold AFP late on Wednesday.

“Ending the war is notenough,” he said, referring to amore than three year conflictthat pits the government sup-ported by a Saudi-led militarycoalition against Huthi rebels.

“What we need is to stop thewar and (to create) a govern-ment mechanism that puts at thecentre the people and children.

“The war is exacerbating thesituation that was already badbefore because of years ofunderdevelopment” in the Arabworld’s poorest nation,Cappelaere said.

He welcomed a call by theUN on Wednesday to relaunchpeace talks within a month.

He said efforts to come upwith a solution in the next 30days were “critical” to improvingaid distribution and saving lives.

Cappelaere said that over6,000 children have either beenkilled or sustained seriousinjuries since 2015. AFP

�)��B��������$�����������������C������%������� ��� ����

&�-����������3�.-����������-�!��"����&����4�����

3��������������� ��,��������>���

$���� �������� ��������� �������6�� �������

������������� ��� ���������� %�����������������������������������

Page 6: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

Gandhiji was always concernedabout how we humans treat-ed animals, because he felt thatthe life of an animal was noless valuable than that of a

human being. He said this in so manywords when he offered his view that, “Tomy mind, the life of a lamb is no less pre-cious than that of a human being.” Againstthe reality of rapid depletion of wildlifeacross the world we are also reminded ofGandhiji’s witty response to a question onwhat he thought of wildlife: “Wildlife isdecreasing in the jungles, but it is increas-ing in the towns.”

There are societies which are largeconsumers of meat, but quite paradoxical-ly a few of them show interest in preserv-ing wildlife. Factory farming, which char-acterises the global meat industry today,distances the consumer from the birth andlife of the animal which is consumed. SirPaul McCartney, a strict vegetarian him-self, said, “If slaughter houses had glasswalls, everyone would be a vegetarian.”This paradox was in evidence in the mid-1970s when beef prices went up and somepeople in the US started consuming horsemeat in certain locations. This led to wide-spread protests and expression of revul-sion, with bumper stickers appearing insome places saying, “horses should be inthe stable, not on the table”.

The motivation for protection ofwildlife in such societies arises out of anappreciation of the cosmetic appeal ofsome endangered species like tiger, chee-tah, polar bear and panda. Parents oftensay that they would not want their grand-children to see these animals only in pic-tures; hence, any efforts at conservation ofthe species is driven by aesthetic appealand the entertainment value of wildlife.

For much too long even in Indiakilling a tiger or leopard was seen almostlike the red badge of courage. How manyportraits have we seen of visitors ofimportance from Britain being treated toa tiger shikar with the ultimate picture ofthe dead animal, and the ‘brave’ shooterstanding with a gun in his hand and hisfoot on the head of the slain tiger?

Today, despite strong legislation andglobal agreements, the threat to wildlife,whose numbers have reached precariouslevels, comes from poaching and thegeneral encroachment of human activitieson the habitat of species in the wild. Insuch a situation when a hungry carnivorecannot find adequate food, it ventures toseek easy game in human habitation. In somany cases the affected community attacksthe predator to protect its livestock.

Today, the threat to animals andspecies in the wild has reached an unprece-dented level. The World Wide Fund(WWF) has done remarkable work inassessing the frightening expansion of

humanity’s footprint on theearth’s increasingly fragileecosystems. ‘The Living PlanetReport’ (LPR), a comprehen-sive and rigorous compilationof the state of the earth’s nat-ural resources and ecosys-tems, is produced every twoyears, and the WWF has justbrought out its 2018 edition,which provides chilling detailsof the damaging effects on theirreplaceable bounty of natureas a consequence of what wecall economic development.

The LPR 2018 estimatesand concludes that “on aver-age, we’ve seen an astonishing60 per cent decline in the sizeof populations of mammals,birds, fish, reptiles, andamphibians in just over 40years”. What is particularlyalarming is the trend that weare seeing in the direction ofover-exploitation of speciesacross the globe. The Presidentand CEO of WWF Carter SRoberts states, “Natural sys-tems essential to our survival— forests, oceans, and rivers —remain in decline. Wildlifearound the world continue todwindle. It reminds us that weneed to change the course. It’stime to balance our consump-tion with the needs of nature,and to protect the only planetthat is our home.”

The fundamental flaw inour pattern of growth anddevelopment lies in the fact

that nature provides us with awealth of ecosystem services,but the market values these aszero, and there is no system bywhich price of these servicescan be included in the costs ofgoods and services producedby the human society.

As a visionary economistsaid several decades ago:“Nature has no checkout coun-ters.” Hence, we treat the glob-al commons as a free good,leading to their precariouscondition today. Yet, as theLPR 2018 estimates, on a glob-al basis, nature provides ser-vices worth around $125 tril-lion a year, and more than that,nature ensures the supply offresh air, clean water, food,energy, medicines, and muchmore, all of which we devaluedheavily.

Overall, populations ofmammals, birds, fish, reptiles,and amphibians have, on aver-age, declined by 60 per centbetween 1970 and 2014, themost recent year with availabledata. The Earth is estimated tohave lost about half of its shal-low water corals in the past 30years; and a fifth of theAmazon has disappeared injust 50 years.

There is a very small win-dow of opportunity for us toact and prevent irreversibledisaster. In the case of climatechange, we are the first gener-ation to understand the science

and risks of climate changebut we may be the last gener-ation to be able to solve theproblem. Similarly, as the LPR2018 states: “We are the firstgeneration that has a clear pic-ture of the value of nature andour impact on it. We may bethe last that can take action toreverse this trend. From nowuntil 2020 will be a decisivemoment in history.”

The so-called “great accel-eration” has brought thehuman society unprecedentedbenefits in the areas of overallrise in our health, wealth,food and security, but thebenefits are very unequalacross society. And these ben-efits have come at a huge costin terms of the disappearanceof the wealth of biodiversityand nature. And, yet as theLPR states, nature under-pinned by biodiversity pro-vides a wealth of serviceswhich are the building blocksof modern society. But biodi-versity is being destroyedrapidly. Hence, the protectionof wildlife may have a certainromanticism behind the mea-gre efforts that we see aroundus, but unless we develop areverence and value for natureand biodiversity, these effortswould remain futile and inef-fective.

(The writer is former chair-man, Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change, 2002-15))� �� ���� �� ��� ��� ��*����+�������������������(

��� ��������%������������������!�������������������,������������������������������������(���� �� ������ � ����� �� ������������� ��������� �� ���� ����������������� !������������������#������ ���������������������������������������������������%�������-������������������!����%����������+���������������������������*��������.�������*���������������������� ��������������������������������������

�������/����!����%��������������������������������������(������ ���������������"���� ��������������������������#�������������%���������������������������������������0������������������������������������)������������������������������������ ������������������������1���������������������������� ��������� ����%���������������(�������������������������������������������+�������������������������������������������������������������)��������������������������������������������������������������"��������*��� ���������������������������� ������"��(�������������� �������������(�������������������������������(��������������� ����"��������������������������������� ������(�������������������������2 ���������������������������������������%����������������������� ��������

��� ��%������� ����������� ����������� ����� �� ��*����+���������������������������������������������3���� �� ���� �� ������ 0��� %�������� ��� ���� !����%������+��������������������������!��������������������(�����������������-����������������������������(����������(��� ���� ������������ )��������������#�� ��� ���� ����� ��������������%��������������+���������������������!��������������������������������������������� ���������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������24$5��������&�������������������������������/����������������������������������������� �������������� �����������������������������(�������������)��������,���&���������������������� ����)������������ ������������������ (���������������������������� ������������������������������ �����������������

)�&�����������������&�������������������� �����������������������6���������������������

����������������������������������������������/����������������������������(������������������� � ���� ����� �� �������������� �� ���� ������� �� ��������������� 7������ ��� �������������������������� ��������������������������8������� ���������(������ ��������������������5#�3����� $���� !���� 9:;<& � ��/����/������ ,��� =//,> ����� ������������ ����� ����������� ��

����� ������� ���������������������������� ����������(����������������������� �������� ������������������������������� ����������������#��������������������?:�����������������������������������������������������//,����������)���������&������������������������ �����������������������������

1���������������������������������������������(�����������������������������������������������������������(������������������������������������������������������#��������������������������������� ������������������������//,������������������������������������ ������������������� ��������������� ���������������� ��� ������������;@A?���9:;B��������������������=�����������������������������>��$����!���&�������������������������� ������(���������������� ��������������������/��������� ����� ��������������������������������������������� ���������?:��������������#�������������������������������(�����������������������������������������������#���������������������5��(�������&=+��������*����������>��������������������������������������<@������#�//,�������(������������������������������������������������������������(�������������� ����������������������������������(� �� ���������������� ������ �������������������������C��������������������������������������������������0��2�����������������������������������������//,������� ����DE/��������������������������������F

7��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������87����������%�������������&������� ������������1��������������������������������������������������������� ������������ � �����/������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������2�����������������������������(���������������������������������� �������������0�������������"����� �� �������������������������������������������������������)���������������������������7�������������������������������G

�������!��������������5� ��5� � ���0������������/���������(�����������������������6��/ ������� ��������

����������5� ����7����������� �����������&���

�����������!�������8���4���������������9

����������� �����

Sir — There has been a steadyslide in India’s foreign policyever since this Government cameto power at the Centre. From theway the turmoil in the KashmirValley has been handled to thedeteriorating relationship withour neighbour Pakistan, whichhas led to frequent border attacksand the loss of lives of many ofour soldiers, to the snub from USPresident Donald Trump, thedecline is unprecedented. Thedevelopments in Sri Lanka alsopoint to the failure of intelligencegathering and our diplomacy.On Sri Lanka, India must treadcautiously.

Tharcius S Fernando Chennai

�����������

Sir — This refers to the article,“Sardar Patel: A man for allcrises” (October 31) by SureshPrabhu. While welcoming thegood motive behind buildingthe statue of Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel, which was inaugurated byour Prime Minister in Gujarat,apprehensions are still not out of

everyone’s mind as why an enor-mous sum of money waspumped into the building of thisstatue.

It should not be forgottenthat there are still a lot of issuesthat remain unaddressed andunattended. The curse of pover-ty, too, is still raging the coun-try. It is, therefore, questionableid such a huge amount of moneymust be spent on the construc-

tion of a statue. However, the imposing the

182-metre statue is the world’stallest, even dwarfing the Statueof Liberty in the United States.Full credit goes to PrimeMinister Modi as it is believedthat he conceptualisded themonument when he was theChief Minister of Gujarat.

Undoubtedly, the world’stallest monument will serve as a

reminder about Sardar Patel’scourage to thwart conspiracy todisintegrate India.

Historically speaking, onintegration, Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel used force to annex prince-ly States, including Hyderabadand Junagadh; rulers of theseStates did not wish to merge withthe Indian Union.

TK Nandanan Chennai

������������

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Reason for optimism”(October 30). The recent two-day summit between IndianPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe in Tokyo is indica-tive of stronger and fruitful tiesbetween the two countries.Enhanced economic coopera-tion between India and Japanwould help foster and expandIndia’s economic growth.

There were a number ofagreements signed between bothcountries. Most important ofthem was the bilateral currencyswap agreement worth $75 dol-lar. This deal will make it pos-sible for India and Japan to payfor imports and exports in cur-rencies of the two countriesrather than the American dollar.Besides this, Japan also extend-ed loan worth 316 billion yen toIndia for seven infrastructureprojects in India.

Devendra KhuranaBhopal

� ) � 6 � & $ � � � ) � � $ # �

+++������� ������������ 0"� �K������� ����L M���5������ ����L ��������"� �K������� ����K

�������������'������( ��)�*����+,�+-./

#9

"��� ���������������� � ��

&8 ���&��($

-��������� ����� ������)���������� ������������������������������ ��� ����� ������������ ���)�� ��)����� ������������ ��)������%����� ���������������

/� ������������������0��� ����9� ���������� �������:���� ����� ���������������������� ���������� "

�38��8����N3����J����

/�������� ���������%�������� ��������0��"/����,��� ������������ � ��������������6������������ ���������"

�38 (���79�3;;"D"� N������5�)������

��,������ ������1������,�������������O/������ ������ 0�����0�����1����� �%����� ���������������� ��"

"8�D*38N������ ���

/������������ �������� �����)��,���������������������������)�� �6����� �� �� 6� ���������)�� �����"

�8�E�D!"�;N�����+� ��

� ' � % 0 � $ ) �

� � ) ) � ( � ) ' � )) & � � � 0 $ ) ' (

�����������������������������������������

���� ������ � ��� ���� ����% G���0�� �� �����H93 )�����B:"4)�������� ����+����)����0 �/����9+�/:( )��� �+������+����������� �����

�� �� ������%����� ����� ������+�/������( )���������)�� �"7�� �� ����� � ��� ����%���( )����������� �0��� ��� ������+�/%����������� �������� �%�������������%�����"

���( )�����������0� �� ������������������ ���������������������+�/P�� ����"������6���� ����� ��) �)�� ���+�/P� � ������������� ��(���������P������ ��� �������� �� ����,� ��� �������������������� �������+�/5�����( )��� �E����������� ������( )��������������� ���� ���������������+�/P����6� 6��� �0% ��6�� ������������� �� ���������������"*�����3 ����0�� #�������� $ ����� ��1������ ������ � � ���6�����%����� ���� ���)������������� ����,� ���� ����0���������������� �� ������������"

-����)�������������� %����������( )�������� ����+�/�� ��� ���������������������"-���)����� �������������������$�/����� �������( )�������P��������� �� 0�������"���������6)�������� ����( )�������P�������+�/P� �0�� ���� ��������������������"/��� ���� ��� ��� ������ ���������������� ��� �"

�� ��3F"7(���

�*4#�35�'43��&#&�-/37�+����4+37#

(+7-�*�3554E4&7�'43�

&/4�/3�*4#�$��*��3���+4�+7E/54���

-/�*�-4�&�*7#4$7�;��4'�4+E/$4�%����*4'�+�4�

E�&�4��*4�4��J4+7

&������������������3 �**�8&*3:"37��8G<��" 4D3��

Page 7: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

The ongoing multi-starrer soapopera concerning the goings onwithin the Central Bureau of

Investigation (CBI) is getting evermore curious. The organisation seemsto be imploding and skeletons are tum-bling out of the closet like confetti.Perplexingly, for the Government,those who were expected to quietly dis-appear into the woodwork have sud-denly found the courage to speak upand demand to be heard.

Not unexpectedly, the first casual-ty of all this was Union FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley’s talk of “main-taining institutional integrity”. Notthat his explanation was particularlycredible in the first place as theGovernment had already shot itself inthe foot by appointing a predominant-

ly controversial officer as the InterimDirector. Interestingly, the CentralVigilance Commissioner, KVChowdhary, who was entrusted withthe supervision of the CBI by theSupreme Court, also found himselfwoefully exposed in the spotlight withlittle to commend his actions in thisaffair. This is clearly borne out by thedirections of the apex court, despitestating that its “entrustment of super-vision of the on-going enquiry by theCVC to a former judge of this court isa one-time exception, which has beenfelt necessary by this Court in the pecu-liar facts of this case and should not beunderstood to be casting any reflectionon any authority of the Government ofIndia”. These words are reminiscent ofthat famous “But Brutus is an hon-ourable man” speech by Mark Anthonyat Julius Caesar’s funeral, whom Brutushelped kill. Chowdhary would do wellto recall where that speech got poorBrutus!

For those who have closely fol-lowed the manner in which the ArmedForces, arguably the last functionalinstitution within the country, have

been eviscerated over the past fouryears by this Government, the visibledysfunction within the CBI should notcome as much of a surprise. What, ofcourse, is a pleasant change is thatunlike the complete absence of any seri-ous objection, except from veterans,against all manner of indignities beingheaped on the military, there has beenvociferous opposition to what is aptlybeing referred to as a “midnight coup”at the CBI.

This is understandable given thatpoliticians, whatever their ideology, arealways looking for ways to subvert the

criminal justice system, of which theCBI is an important edifice, to accom-plish their own nefarious designs.Why else would the CBI have beenreferred to as a “caged parrot” a fewyears ago?

One can rest assured that as longas we continue to elect those facing seri-ous criminal charges, like rape andmurder, to Parliament, just and equi-table governance will remain apipedream. Given the CBI’s sinisterinfluence, it is no wonder then thatevery Government of the day looks toappoint a suitably malleable Director,

especially on the eve of elections, forobvious reasons.

Jaitley’s suggestion of the fiascowithin the CBI being the result of anego-driven vulgar public slugfestbetween the Director Alok Verma, andhis deputy Rakesh Asthana, does notcut much ice. While a clash of egos maywell have been the immediate provo-cation, there appears to be much moreat stake than what meets the eye. Fromdocuments that have appeared in themedia, Verma appears to have beenwell justified in opening a probeagainst Asthana. Clearly, given theemphasis Prime Minister NarendraModi publicly places on fighting cor-ruption, the Government should haveunequivocally supported the Director’saction, even more so because Asthanawas from the Gujarat Cadre and hadpreviously worked under Modi. Thatthe Government did not do so andinstead acted with haste to derail theongoing investigation by de factoreplacing the Director, and transferringthe Investigating Officer to theAndaman and Nicobar Islands, puts aquestion mark on its motives.

In the forthcoming elections, theneed to appoint a ‘suitable’ replace-ment for the outgoing Director is adire necessity in order to contain thefallout of the Rafale controversy. Thisis inextricably linked to its actions andthe reason why Verma finds himselffighting a lonely, uphill battle againstthe might of the Government.Whatever may be the outcome of thepresent imbroglio, Verma has shownus the true face of a deeply flawedorganisation.

It is fairly clear that we cannot leaveits revival to politicians if it is to live upto its motto ‘Industry, Impartiality andIntegrity’. It is time for the civil societyand all stakeholders to step up and forcethe political-bureaucratic establish-ment to truly transform the CBI intothe pre-eminent investigative agencywithin the country that we can all beproud of. If we are unwilling to do so,we should be prepared for the worst.

(The writer is a military veteran, aConsultant with the Observer ResearchFoundation and Visiting Senior Fellowwith The Peninsula Foundation,Chennai)

������� �������������� ����

�������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./

��������A����� ��������$�������� ���+H-2������)���4���$������������)���� �������������������)���� �����������I����)����� $4�

J������������������ $��������������)���������

����)���� ���������������� �4�������������������������� ��������� ��� ������������������ �������� � ��� ��� ��� ����� $4J�������������������� $��������������������

�#����'�%)�(�#����

Braj Kishore Verma, popularly known by hispen name, Manipadma, is indisputably oneof the most productive novelists of Maithililanguage. He is a prolific writer in the truesense of the term and has published more

than a dozen of novels based on a variety of issuesranging from folktales to slavery, from beggary tospying and so on. The prestigious Maithili magazine,Mithila-Mihir, which is indeed responsible for themaking of many successful creative writers inMaithili, published some parts of his first, incom-plete novel, Analpatha. It was, perhaps, never com-pletely written as nobody has any clue or access tothe entire novel.

Four years later, a historical novel titled,Vidyapati, was published. Vidyapati is the fountainhead of Maithili literature even though Manipadmawrote as many as 11 texts in Sanskrit before he turnedto Maithili language for his poetic endeavours. AndManipadma presents different dimensions ofVidyapati’s personality in an extremely persuasivemanner with a backdrop of the Oinwar dynasty,which he served particularly during the reign of kingShiva Singh. The novel traces the trajectory of thegenesis and the growth of the great poet and alsobrings to the fore some of the trials and tribulationsfaced by the queen, Lakhima Devi. Vidyapatiappears to be the first complete, notable novel whichgave Manipadma distinctive visibility in the domainof literature.

During the period of 1967 and 1968, his novel,Ardhanarishwar, was serialised in Mithila-Mihir. Itcame out in a book form much later in 1981. Theidea of Ardhanarishwar is invoked in this novel tosuggest that all human beings, regardless of their gen-der, have both masculine and feminine character-istics embedded in their disposition. The novel isspecifically important for its effective articulation ofthose ideas which were gathered from philosophi-cal traditions prevalent in the ancient Indian socialnetworks for the assertion of the fact that the com-mon folks share a deep solidarity and have tremen-dous respect for the country. Trying to establish aharmonious confluence amongst Saiva, Shakta andBuddhist philosophies, he does, in fact, make enor-mous contribution to the reawakening of ournationalist mindset.

With a certain degree of poise and poignance,Manipadma played a significant role in shaping andeven strengthening our national consciousness inalmost all of his novels, such as Raja Salhesh, LorikVijay, Kobragarl, Naika Banjara, Lavahari Kushahari,Rai Rampal, Phutpath, Bharatika Bilari, Dulara Dayaland Nagbhumi, sometimes quite explicitly and atother times implicitly. Raja Salhesh is centered aroundthe cultural narratives of a lower caste in Mithila.Salhesh is an extraordinary Dalit character capableof performing certain spectacularly heroic activitiesand, thus, defeating the nefarious designs ofChuharmalla, who has been portrayed as an arche-typal villain in this novel.

Similarly, Lorik-Vijay draws uopn the folkloreassociated with the Ahir community of our coun-try. Equipped with a remarkably strong body and animmensely sound mind, Lorik emerges as a popu-lar leader. He exhibits an indefatigable will andindomitable spirit which drive him to indulge in allkinds of romance and adventure. His indulgencemakes him to lose sight of the love and affection ofhis wife, Manjari. And he finds himself quiet unable

to resist the temptation of the glamour andcharm of Chanaina. Despite his indul-gence and susceptibility, he decisivelydefeats his rivals representing evil andfinally succeeds in attaining a kind of ulti-mate peace and happiness with the assis-tance of his beautiful and unbelievablyhelpful wife.

Naika Banjara, which brought theSahitya Academy Award for Manipadmafollowing the year of its publication,explores a Buddhist folktale in a creativeway. Its exploration in the novel ends uphighlighting the utmost importance of notjust knowledge, insight and wisdom, butalso economic health and military prowessfor the development of a nation. Weavingtogether different stories of Kanakmanjari,sea-trader Ratansen and the Buddhistmonk, Devapadma, with a view to fore-ground the significance of Banjara nar-ratives, Manipadma provides an effectiveframework of defining human relation-ships which value the fulfillment ofnational interest more than individualaccomplishments. It is very much evidentin the text that Buddhist way of lookingat human life and the growth of a nationis as fruitful and inseparable as any othermainstream philosophical traditions.

From their primary preoccupationwith the cultural narratives of supposed-ly lower and backward castes, these threenovels very categorically demolish the falseaccusation put forward by either ignorantor arrogant minds who prefer to associ-ate Maithili literature exclusively withupper castes and the representations oftheir socio-political and cultural accounts.

Manipadma also experimented withthe genre of detective fiction when hechose to write Kobragarl in which anextremely brave, young lady does notmind at all to put her own life at stake forthe sake of the nation. She willingly choos-es to perform the task of spying and goeson to expose the Chinese conspiracyagainst the new emergent nation state. Anardent desire to even sacrifice one’s ownlife at the alter of nationalist cause is so

succinctly expressed in this enormouslyexciting piece of literary work.

His Lavahari Kushhari, Rai Ranpaland Dulara Dayal revolve around thosefolktales which reflect the existence ofhighly moving ancient Indian cultural net-works. The first engages with the Sitaramkatha from the point of view of their chil-dren. Sita is seen as a valiant warrior fromMithila, who does not fall apart even whenabandoned by her husband while she ispregnant. She takes care of herself and rais-es her two sons like a strong and self-suf-ficient single parent. The novel tells us aninteresting story of Ram being defeatedby his own sons. Clearly, it has been writ-ten with a perspective to put Ram in placebefore Sita disappears, in fact motivatesherself to merge with the all encompass-ing mother Earth.

The second, Rai Ranpal gives us adetailed account of the historical deeds ofthe central protagonist who happens to bethe last king of the Pal dynasty. The hero-ic way Ranpal faces the challenges, whichcircumstances have thrown his way,draws lessons for us that we should con-front difficulties of our lives and never evertry to run away from the sorry state ofaffairs surrounding the world we live in.A group of folk dancers, who are knownas Pamariyas, prefer to sing the touchingtales of Ranpal, specifically to celebrate thebirth of a child in Mithila region of thenation. The third, Dulara Dayal deals withthe devotion of the hero towards the river,Kamla. His undying admiration for thegoddess indicates the relevance of the riverfor the well-being of the region and in turnthe nation. He is believed to possess thekind of divine skills that enable him todance in inimitable ways with an appar-ent objective to bring good fortune to thepeople of that region.

Most of the distinguished Maithiliwriters have not cared to write literaturefor children. But Manipadma proves to bedifferent. He wrote Bharatika Bilari whichis a an extremely entertaining story of anadventurous journey of a very funny child

along with a miraculous cat. This novelrepresents those imaginative tendencieswhich constitute the cosmos of children’sliterature. It basically fulfills the creativeresponsibilities of a sensitive author whothinks that the availability of quality lit-erature for children is indispensable forthe formation of healthy regional ornational ethos.

Manipadma’s consistent engagementwith the ideas and issues that underlinethe primacy given to the national inter-est is particularly praiseworthy in view ofthe fact that his last published novel,Nagabhumi, unequivocally promotesnational unity and its territorial integri-ty in the face of seemingly insurmount-able insurgency which erupted inNagaland. He considers the violent rebel-lion as an act of treason, highlights the roleof foreign vested interests in aggravatingthe turmoil and turbulence and finallyexhorts us all to show our unequivocal sol-idarity with the idea of India in order tofoil the attempts of the destabilisingforces hell-bent for the disintegration ofthe nation in one pretext or the other.

Borrowing a phrase from the histo-rian, Partha Chatterrjee, who has dis-cussed a great deal about of the idea ofnation and nationalism, I wish to state thatManipadma talks about the nation and itsfragments in the above-mentioned nov-els in a pretty complex and nuanced man-ner. His artistic preoccupation with thereinforcement of the national conscious-ness, citing numerous examples from folk-tales alongside those from contemporaryrealities entirely demolishes the claim thatthe sense of the nation began to developin our country with the colonial interven-tion. Exploding the myth of the genesisof our nation in colonial encounter,Manipadma establishes himself as anationalist writer who effortlessly drewupon the cultural reservoir so easily avail-able in ancient Indian social networks.

(The writer is Assistant professor ofEnglish at Rajdhani College, DelhiUniversity)

%��� ��������������)��������

����������������������������������������������������������� ����������������� �������� �����������������������������/��������� ������������������� ���� ����������

�������������� ������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������� �� ���������������������������� �������������� ��������������������������������������� �������������������������������������

'�3/��5'���$73�/��43�43(�(4'43�

-/�*�*4/54���35/���4�

�*���354+&/34�*4�+/'�$;(/E43�7�*4

3��/73�&/3�4+4��/�

��+�/$�&�+&;�+�/�4-7+�*;/3E/4-7#�*4#�$�*/�&���

���&/�*4537E4&%

���� ����%�34Q�/E7$�&&;

�+7'7�4�3��/73�&�3/�;

�35�*43��/73��

�4++/�7+/�&/3�4(+/�;/3

�*4#�$47#�*4/3��+(43$;

-*/$*4+���45/33�(�&�35

H������������������"���������������&����������� ��� �����������������D/�����������������������+���0�������%�������I��$���������$��������

)����G)������ �������������������;@<:����;@@:����������"������������������������������������� ������9:::����������������������������������*�������� ��*������������������������������������������ ������������������ �����������������������(�� �������������������7��������+���0��������2���������;@J9��;@J?�������������������������������������������������������$��������)��������;@@9��;@@A�#���&���������������������������������*��� ����������������� ��������������������������������������������������������� �������������G

�� �� ������ ��� ���� �� �� 0��� � $����� ���+������������������������*������*����+���������!����*��������������������+���0������&��������������������������������������������������������3�����������2������ �4�����$��� =24$>���������������$���0������ ������ ������0����+���������*������������"����� ���� ��������#� �������������������������������������)����������������������������������/���&�������(��������������������0��������������������������������������(+�����������)������������������ �����(���������(���������(��(��(�����������

+������������+���0������������������� �����9::J�������������������������������������(������������ (�����������4$0������+�������������(���0$��������������������������*����H�������������������������������������������3����3����.������)��������� ���������������������(����������������� ����������������������&����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������,���� ������������������������(���������������*���%��������� � �������*������+���������������?�:::�� ���������������������B:�:::�

#������������#����������������������9�:::������������������������I)��K�:::���������������)L����A�J::������������������L)�*��������9::����������������������������L)���L))�/���������������������9;������������������;< ����������������������������������������������#���������������������������������������������������&������������������������������ ����� ������� �� ��������� ������������� #�0�����I�� �����.������ ������$������� 4�����.������ ��������������I�����.��������0��� �����������.���������������������������������������������������������+������������ ����

!����*�����������+���0��������+���������������9::B����������������������������������*��������������� �������������������)�9::?(:A�+��������������������������*�����������������������;;(������������� ��� �� �������� �� *������ #���� ���*������+���� =9::?(9::A> �� �� �� �������� �� ��*������������$�������)�����������0������ �%���������)�����#�M ���������������������������+����������������������������������������������*��������������(�������������������������*���*�����.��������������(�������������������������������������������������(���������������������#�N������I����.������������(�� ����������������(�������������������"������� (��������������

����+��������������������������������������(�����������������������������������������������������(����������������������#�������������+������������������������������������������������#�24$�������������������������������������$���0������ ������0���������������������������������������*����������������������������������+���0��������

#�M����%�������&����������������� ������2������M���������M4�3������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������(���#�24$���������������������!��������,��������!����������DE)������������������������ ��������)���������� ������������������������ �F)���������(�������������������������� ��������������� �

����� ������������������������ ����� ����������� ��!

�������� #:; $ ( � ) � ' � � < %

��9���� �%�%0

�����8 �$%&�

�����$ ������������ ��0� ����������� ���� ���)�� �����N���)�������$� �������+��������N�� �������� ������� �����6�������)�

�'"���������&�

;'(�$7%�=�

/������������� ����0����� ��������������������������� ���� �������B?2C���8��������)������������6������������� ������������"����� �� ��� %���)��6������ ��0������ ���������������%�������������������������������� � ���� ���� ��������� ���������"�������������������

������������ �����

+++������� �������

'� ,������������)�

Page 8: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

�������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./ ������#>

��� ��)������� �43(�&�+�

In a jolt to the saffron party, LChandrashekhar, the BJP candidate

contesting the by-election to theRamanagara Assembly constituency onThursday announced his decision to quitthe fray against Anita Kumaraswamy,wife of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.The election will be held on Saturday andthe sudden decision of Chandrashekharwho had joined the party a month agonow announced his support to AnitaKumaraswamy of the JD(S)-Congressnominee.

At a Press conference in Bengaluru,Chandrashekhar blamed the BJP leadersfor his decision and their non cooperation.He said, “He has decided to come back tohis mother party Congress and also extendhis support to Anita Kumaraswamy.” “BJPleaders had abandoned me and did notcome to campaign for me”, he added.

He said "After welcoming me to theBJP by giving party flag, Yeddyurappa(State BJP chief) or any other leaders didnot join me for campaigning. They neglect-

ed Ramanagara due to internal squabblebetween the leaders within the party."

With this, Anita Kumaraswamy willhave a smooth passage to the power of cor-ridor in the Saturday’s bypoll as there is nocontest against her. By-election toRamanagara was necessitated as it fellvacant after Kumaraswamy gave up theseat preferring Chennapatna, the other seathe had won in the May Assembly polls. By-polls for three Lok Sabha constituencies— Shivamogga, Ballari and Mandya andtwo assembly constituencies, Ramanagaraand Jamkhandi, will take place onNovember 3. The counting of votes wouldbe on November 6.

BJP State chief BS Yeddyurappa direct-ly blamed Minister DK Shivakumar and

his brother an MP DK Suresh and allegedthat the candidate was bought by them.

He said in Shivamogga “ Shivakumarand brother (D K Suresh) have brought(him) back, by giving money. I got theinformation just now. God bless them."

The BJP recently had poachedChandrashekhar, son of a senior Congressleader C M Lingappa, and the Congresshad decided to support the candidate ofits ruling coalition partner, JD(S). Withindays after joining the BJP, he wasannounced as the party's candidate. TheBJP workers who campaigned for himprotested against his decision. Ramangarais famous for production of silk and hasworld’s biggest cocoon market. The townis also known as Sholay nagara after thefilm Sholay was shot there.

The bypolls are a litmus test for thecoalition partners JD(S) and the Congress.The snap of Ramanagara candidate is verywell managed and orchestrated ploy by DKShivakumar and his brother DK Suresh. AtShivamogga bypoll for the Lok Sabha,Yeddyurappa’s son BY Raghavendra isfighting a crucial battle against combinedcandidate Madhu Bangarappa of theJD(S). At Ballari the mining dust hasclouded again and BJP’s J Shantha sister ofJ Sruramulu is fighting Ugrappa of the con-gress supported by the JD(S).

��������������������������

���-��������+������7��.�������8������0��.����-����

����� (�35*/3�(�+

Despite recent attacks onmigrant workers in the

different parts of the State fol-lowing alleged rape of a toddlerby a Bihari origin labourer inNorth Gujarat, Chief MinisterVijay Rupani on Thursdayclaimed that industrial peacewas prevailing in Gujarat andstill it was an ideal place formigrants.

Speaking at the Federationof Indian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry(FICCI) national executivemeet at Ahmadabad, the ChiefMinster said that there waszero-level unrest coupled withbusiness friendly environmentin the State. Insisting FICCIbusiness delegates to organiseconventions and conferences oftheir business establishmentsnear ‘Statue of Unity’, Rupanisaid that industries were thriv-ing in Gujarat due to positiveatmosphere and the StateGovernment’s business friend-ly policies.

It is worth mentioning thatahead of the Lok Sabha polls,

Gujarat Government is slatedto hold its flagship event oftrade and investment —Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit(VGGS) in January 2019 toattract investment in the state.Rupani wants to ensure thatdue to scattered incidences ofattacks on migrants, the imageof Gujarat as business friendlystate wouldn’t be tarnish.

On September 28, 2018 a14-month-old girl was alleged-ly raped by a labourer belong-ing to Bihar. Following theincident, provoked localsattacked on Hindi-speakinglabourers working in facto-ries. The attacks spread fear onmigrants workers and thou-sands of them fled to theirrespective States well ahead ofDiwali holidays.

Taking the incidences seri-ously Gujarat Government also

appointed two fast track judgesin order to quickly dispose caserelated to rape on infant as wellas attacks on innocent migrantlabourers. More than 60 casesof attacks on migrant workershave been registered with theGujarat police in different partsof the States.

Entire episode becamepolitical blame game as rulingBJP blamed on Congress MLAAlpesh Thakor for provokinglocals against migrant labour-ers and on the other sideCongress leaders claimed thatthe State Government failed tocontrol the situation and asresult of it thousands of migrantworkers forced to flee the State.

7�2������� ���� �� ��������������!�:���

4$������������������3�������7�+���������������3���"����������

���������73���"��� �

������������������������

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena saidon Thursday that the BJP isnow courting it as theDevendra Fadnavis-ledMaharashtra Government hasentered a "dangerous" fifthyear.

The Uddhav Thackeray-ledparty, which is a partner in theBJP-led alliance in the State andCentre, also asked Fadnavis toexplain in which areas, as perhis claim, the State has reachednumber one position.

An editorial in Senamouthpiece "Saamana" quotedFadnavis's recent statementthat a Sena-BJP alliance in thenext year's Lok Sabha and Stateelections was necessary forpreventing division ofHindutva votes.

"(Senior BJP leader andMinister) Chandrakant Patiland (State BJP chief) RaosahebDanve's new-found love for theSena stems from the fact that thefifth year is dangerous for theFadnavis Government," it said.

It further asked if the BJPwas so worried about divisionof Hindutva votes, why did itbreak up the alliance before the2014 Assembly elections. PTI

������������ ��� �7&����

All days will continue to passas black days if the BJP

continued to rule India by fan-ning communal and sectariantension in the country, MamataBanerjee has said while react-ing to Prime Minister NarendraModi’s unveiling of SardarVallabhbhai Patel’s statue inGujarat as the Statue of Unity.

Contrasting Patel’s ideolo-gy with the one preached by thesaffron outfit Banerjee told anaudience at Alipurduar thatunlike Patel, the BJP practicedcommunal and sectarian poli-tics which would only bringblack days and not AchchheDin or good days as promisedby the Prime Minister.

“Sardar Vallabhbhai Patelnever believed in politics ofcaste and religion. He neverdivided people. He was alwaysfor national unity which wasproved by his action. But theBJP is trying to divide thecountry on the basis of casteand religion. This can neverbring Achchhe Din and will

only bring black days,” Banerjeesaid adding all the days ruled bythe BJP were in fact black days.

Raising the NRC issue inAssam, where about 40 lakhpeople — of which majoritywere Bengalis — had allegedlybeen thrown out of the NationalRegister for Citizens, Banerjeesaid Patel used to tell all theleaders to treat the people of allcommunity, class, caste andlanguages equally “but herethe Govt of Assam is drivingaway the Bengalis and theGujarat Govt is driving awaythe Biharis from those States.”

She said on the birthday ofSardar Patel, “we hope the peo-ple of the country to remain unit-ed,” adding the BJP’s dirty tricksto divide the people of Bengal togarner votes will never be suc-cessful. “We will thwart theirattempts to divide the people ofBengal for political reasons andwe ask you to remain alert abouttheir political designs,” she said.

Meanwhile, the TrinamoolCongress and the BJP lockedhorns in an unrelated devel-opment with the Assam

Government proposing thepurchase the Kolkata house ofsinger Bhupen Hazarika whilethe Trinamool dismissing theproposal as a cheap method ofdoing regional politics.

“Where were they for thesemany years. Today they are ask-ing for the house of BhupenHazarika because they look athim as an Assamese. They areignoring the fact that Hazarikawas a great singer who sang forthe unity of the country, unityof Bengal and Assamese cul-tures. A majority of his songswere in Bengali,” State MinisterPartho Chatterjee said.

The Assam Governmenthas proposed to purchase thehouse of Hazarika at TollygungeGolf Club Road in order to con-vert it into a museum. The BJPreacted to Chatterjee’s statementwith senior leader Rahul Sinhasaying the “the TMCGovernment has done nothingto preserve the memories ofHazarika. The house is in a dilap-idated condition. And they arenot letting the AssamGovernment to preserve it.”

���/�2�*�����)�����������)7�:���,�

������������ ��� �7&����

BJP president Amit Shahmay contest from North

Kolkata, considered a safe seatin the next year’s Lok Sabhaelections, sources in the Bengalunit of the party said.

Replying to a pointed ques-tion Bengal BJP president DilipGhosh said that the State partyunit will be more than willingto host Shah as a candidate. “Ifhe contests from here he willmake it a sure sit to win,”adding “we will be privileged ifAmitji contests from NorthKolkata.”

The BJP had given animpressive performance in2014 from North Kolkata astrong saffron bastion and fin-ished second behind the rulingTrinamool Congress candidateSudip Bandopadhyay.

While the TMC candidategot 343,687 votes polling about36 percent votes — 17 per centless than what his party got in2009 — BJP’s Rahul Sinha got247, 461 votes polling about

25.88 per cent votes — 21.66per cent more from what theparty got in 2009. CPI(M)’sRupa Bagchi came third withabout 2 lakh votes polling20.50 per cent — 19.55 per centless than what the party got in2009. Congress’ Somen Mitrapolled 130,783 lakh votes —about 13.68 per cent of the totalvotes polled.

“The deficit of last time willbe easily covered this timeround if a heavyweight candi-date like Amitji who has all-India acceptance contests fromhere,” Ghosh said.

“My question is if Modijican contest and win fromVaranasi then why can’t he con-test from Puri? And by sameargument why can’t Amitjicontest from North Kolkata,”the State BJP leader said.

“Amitji’s presence in NorthKolkata will definitely turn thefocus on this constituency andalong with it will come a floodof development. Hence we willwant him to contest from here,”said another State leader.

5� ������&������������������1� !�������8

����!���� ��9������1��� ���������.���:"����

�������� ���� '�'��/

Five persons — comprisingthree cleaners and two fire

brigade personnel — drownedon Thursday afternoon, afterthey were trapped in accumu-lated sludge in a temple well atKalyan in the neighbouringThane district.

Three persons, who hadgone to clean the sticky sludgeinside the well located on theBhimashankar temple locatedat Netivali area in the easternpart of Kalyan, were stuckinside the well first. The twofire brigade personnel whohad gone to rescue the threetrapped persons also drowned.

The incident took place at2.30 pm. While one of thethree cleaners killed in themishap was identified asRahul Gosawi, the two otherworkers had not been identi-fied till evening. The policeidentified the two firemendrowned in the incident asAnant Shelar and PramodWaghchore.

The incident unfolded ataround 1.30 pm, when one per-son went inside a well to cleanit up and got trapped in thesticky sludge. Before long, twoother cleaners climbed downinto the well, only to be trappedin the sludge.

The fire brigade arrived on

the scene immediately after-noon. Two of the fire brigadepersonnel went into the well torescue the three cleaners. Thesetwo fire brigade personnel weresucked into the thick sludge.

Later in the evening, ateam of divers with safety belts,ropes, oxygen cylinders andmasks, went into the well andtook out the bodies from thewell.

Thane’s Deputy PolicePolice Commissioner (Zone-3)Sanjay Shinde said that the fivepersons might have been killedafter either consuming chemical-laden water or con-suming poisonous smell insidethe well.

:*����7�;�� �*�� (�%������������)������ �8�� �+�

�������������� �+/3�(�+

Security forces shot dead twoterrorists of proscribed

Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) out-fit in central Kashmir’s Budgamdistrict while a soldier wasinjured in the heavy exchangeof fire. The authorities snappedinternet services in severalcentral Kashmir pockets toprevent mobilisation of people.

Police sources said thattwo terrorists identified asMukhtar Ahmad Khan andMohammad Amin Mir, bothlocal residents were killed inthe encounter. The two bodies

along with arms and ammuni-tion were recovered from thegunfight site, police said,adding that both the slain ter-rorists were involved in a seriesof attacks on security estab-lishments in the area.

Police said a soldier wasinjured in the gunfight whowas evacuated to hospital formedical attention.

Reports said that clasheserupted between youth andsecurity forces in Namblabalarea of Pampore in southKashmir's Pulwama districtfollowing the killing of AminMir who belonged to the area.

8�=/�������������������17-���,��*�!

�����������������$*433�/

The Madras High Court onTuesday set the agenda for

retrieving prime property landsworth thousands of crores ofrupees belonging to templesadministered by the HinduReligious and CharitableEndowment (HR&CE)Department of the Tamil NaduGovernment.

Justice S M Subramaniamwhile disposing of a petitionfiled by a devotee in this con-nection also expressed his dis-pleasure and disappointmentover the functioning of theHR&CE Department, the cal-lousness of which led to massiveencroachment of the templelands situated in prime locationsin the State. The case is beingtermed by devotees as the GreatTemple Land Robbery.

“With all humility, this courtwith pain has to observe that theHR&CE Department remainedas a silent spectator for such largescale illegalities and corruptactivities. No one can believethat the higher officials of thedepartment are unaware of suchillegalities and corrupt activities,”said the justice in his order.

Justice R Mahadevan of thesame court had issued an orderon Fenruary 12, 2018 asking the

HR&CE Department to recov-er more than 50,000 acres oftemple land from illegal occu-pants. The HR&CE departmentwas yet to submit the details tothe land to the court per the ver-dict.

Justice Subramanian alsoasked the HR&CE Departmentbosses to furnish the details ofimmovable properties owned bymore than 36,000 templesacross the State which areadministered by the depart-ment.

The Department has beenasked to collate all details regard-ing the land owned by the tem-ple which have been usurped byencroachers over the years andupload the same in the websiteof the department.

T R Ramesh, president,Temple Worshipers Society, anorganisation working for restor-ing and regaining the landedproperties belonging to the tem-ples in Tamil Nadu, said thecourt order was just the tip of amulti-billion rupees scaminvolving politicians, bureaucratsand middle men.

‘Leaders of all political par-ties which have been rulingTamil Nadu are involved in therobbery. The temple lands areinstruments to generate funds tosustain the Hindu community inthe State by ensuring their

well— being by launching feed-ing centres, Veda Patasalas(schools to teach Vedas,Upanishats and religious sci-ence) including educationalinstitutions and hospitals. Butwhat has happened is that theatheist Dravidian leaders squan-dered the temple lands to suittheir convenience,” said Ramesh.

He pointed out how thethen Chief Minister MKarunanidhi (since deceased)illegally took away 295 acres ofprime land belonging toThiruvarur Lord Siva temple forconstruction of the CentralUniversity in his constituency.“Not a rupee was given as com-pensation for this land till Iissued a legal notice to theGovernment. Though the TmilNadu Government was forced togive compensation, it was total-ly inadequate,” said Ramesh.

The HR&CE officials are inthe eye of a storm following thearrest of some senior officials inconnection with the theft of idolsfrom the temples administeredby the department. “More than7,000 antique and ancient idolshave been missing from the tem-ples and the HRCE officials aresilent about the same,” saidRama Gopalan, leader, HinduFront, an umbrella organisationsof various Hindutwa outfits inTamil Nadu.

�������<������������������/.>��*���!��������������

$����*��������������������������������������� �!���-�������&����*������/�������� �

Page 9: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

�������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./ ������#?

�������� ���� '�'��/

The decommissioned aircraft carrier“Viraat” will finally be converted into

a majestic maritime museum and it willbe berthed at the Konkan coast inMaharashtra’s Sindhudurg district.

Announcing this after a weeklyCabinet meeting here, Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis said that the‘Viraat” maritime museum project wouldbe implemented at a cost of Rs 852 croreon a “public-private partnership” model.

“We intend to locate the ViraatMuseum on a concrete foundation builtin the sea 7 nautical miles off the NivatiRocks off the Malvan coast in Sindhudurgdistrict,” the chief minister said.

Nivati Rocks is in the vicinity of NivatiFort which Maratha warrior ChhatrapatiShivaji in the seventeenth century imme-diately after the nearby Sindhudurg fortwas built. The fort was used to look overthe Karli creek and the Vengurla port.

Fadnavis said that the Maharashtragovernment would appoint a high-levelcommittee under the chairmanship of theState chief secretary to decide on the pri-vate industrialists as investors for the pro-ject and also to decide on the terms andconditions for floating tenders for the pur-pose.

Apart housing a maritime museum,the Viraat complex will provide adventuresport facilities like sailing and skydiving.There will also marine training facility formerchant sailors.

By deciding to convert “Viraat” intoa maritime museum, Maharashtra haspipped the states of Goa and AndhraPradesh which were also in the raqce for

the Viraat maritime museum project.The British-made INS Viraat has

been docked in the Mumbai harbour eversince it was decommissioned on March 6,2017.

Viraat, an aircraft carrier, was com-missioned into the Indian Navy on May12. 1987. The ship held the GuinnessBooks of record for being the longest serv-ing warship of the world. The ship whichwas the centre piece of the Navy, housedthe fighters Sea Harriers of INAS 300 pop-ularly called “White Tigers”, AntiSubmarine aircraft Sea king Mk 42B, SeaKing Mk 42 C known as “Harpoons” andthe SAR helicopter Chetak as an integralflight.

The ingenious Air Light Helicopter`Dhruv’ and the Russian twin rotorKamov-31 also operated onboard the ship.The Sea Harriers fleet was decommis-sioned at Goa on May 11, 2016.

Under the Indian Flag, the ship hasclocked more than 22,622 flying hours byvarious aircraft in the past three decadesand has spent nearly 2252 days at sea sail-ing and 5,88,287 NM (10,94,215 KM).

In essence, INS Viraat spent seven

years at sea, covering the entire globe 27times. Since her inception she had a totalof 80,715 hours of boiler running. Sheplayed a major role in the OperationJupiter in 1989 in Sri Lankan PeaceKeeping operation, after which she wasaffiliated with Garhwal Riffles and Scoutsof the Indian Army in 1990.

Her major participation was seen dur-ing Op Parakram in 2001-2002 whereIndia and Pakistan were engaged in astand off post terrorist attack on theParliament. The ship was instrumental inhoning the art of flying operations froma carrier deck in the Navy, which alsoresulted in seamless induction of INSVikramaditya and its integration with thefleet.

The ship participated in various inter-national joint exercises like ExerciseMalabar (USA), exercise Varuna (French),Naseem-Al-Bahar (Oman Navy). Shewas also an integral element of all theannual theater level exercise (TROPEX).The last operational deployment of Viraatwas for participation in International FleetReview (IFR 2016) off Vishakhapatnam inFebruary 2016.

‘Mother’, as she was referred to in theWestern Navy, had been commanded by22 Captains since 1987. She has been theFlag Ship of the Navy since her inception.Around 40 Flag officers includingfiveChiefs of Naval Staff were raised andgroomed in her lap. Her legacy under theRoyal flag was no less. As HMS Hermes,she was commanded by 13 Captains of theRoyal Navy. Her role in operation Mercyin 1974 and Falklands in 1982 are now textbook references for victory, for futurenavies.

����������-�������� $��;��������������

Lucknow: The AllahabadHigh Court on Thursdayquashed the selection of over12,000 teachers by the UttarPradesh Government throughan exam advertised in 2016and directed the CBI to inves-tigate another recruitmentexercise begun earlier thisyear to fill 68,500 posts.

While the 12,460 assistantteachers were selected duringthe term of the AkhileshYadav Government, the sec-ond order asking the CBI tostep in is a major embarrass-ment for the Yogi AdityanathGovernment.

Allegations of corruptionhave already stalled the fillingof 68,500 posts in primaryschools through the AssistantTeachers RecruitmentExamination, 2018.

The exercise, which beganwith an advertisement onJanuary 23, 2018, was meantto be the first major recruit-ment by the state's basic edu-cation department after the

new Bharatiya Janata Partytook over.

The Lucknow bench ofthe court directed the CentralBureau of Investigation tocomplete the probe withinsix months and submit aprogress report to it onNovember 26.

The State 's AdvocateGeneral Raghvendra Singhhad earlier said the UPGovernment was not ready fora CBI inquiry, compelling thecourt to pass the order on itsown.

Issuing directions on abunch of writ petitions, JusticeIrshad Ali directed that theofficers who were part of the2018 selection process wouldcooperate in the investiga-tion and make available all thenecessary documents requiredby the CBI.

The petitioners had madeserious allegations related tothis year's exam, includingthe charge that answer bookswere switched. PTI

<��?����������������:8-��������'��������,����������������!*�������!�� Kolkata: The kin of Subhas

Chandra Bose on Thursdaydemanded a statue of theleader at India Gate in thenational Capital and declara-tion of his birthday on January23 as "Liberation Day".

The demand comes a dayafter Prime Minister NarendraModi unveiled a 182-metre-tallstatue of Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel, considered to be thetallest in the world, in Gujarat.

The imposing monument— the Statue of Unity — isbuilt near the Sardar Sarovardam in Gujarat's Narmadadistrict.

"NDA Government underthe leadership of @naren-dramodi ji kept its commit-ment by unveiling#SardarVallabhaiPatel's statueon 31Oct 2018 & celebratingthe day as #UnityDay. Demandrising to unveil a statue of the#LiberatorofIndia-on 23 Jan'19at #IndiaGate Delhi & declarethe day as #LiberationDay(sic)," Netaji's grandnephewChandra Kumar Bose said ina tweet.

When contacted, Chandra

Kumar Bose, who is also avice-president of the BharatiyaJanata Party's (BJP) WestBengal unit, told PTI that thestatue near India Gate was ademand of several IndianNational Army (INA) andArmy veterans.

The Prime Minister had,on October 21, hoisted thenational flag at the Red Fortand unveiled a plaque to markthe 75th anniversary of theproclamation of the Azad HindGovernment by SubhasChandra Bose.

This was the first time thePrime Minister hoisted thenational flag at the ramparts ofthe historic Red Fort for thesecond time in a year.Traditionally, the prime min-ister unfurls the tricolour at theRed Fort on IndependenceDay.

Modi had also announceda national award in the nameof Subhas Chandra Bose, to begiven every year to those policepersonnel who do excellentwork in rescue-and-reliefoperations during any kind ofdisaster. PTI

Aurangabad (Maha): A dayafter the BJP-led MaharashtraGovernment declared droughtin 26 districts, the OppositionCongress on Thursdaydemanded a Central assistanceof �5000 crore while accusingthe ruling dispensation of fis-cal mismanagement.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, State unit Congresspresident Ashok Chavanaccused the BJP-ledGovernment of not making anyfiscal provisions to fight drought.

The State Government onWednesday declared droughtin 151 talukas in 26 of total 36districts in the State.

As per a Governmentorder, 112 talukas are facingsevere drought and 39 talukasa moderate drought.

"The BJP Government hasdeclared drought, but has madeno budgetary allocations.Maharashtra is reeling under adebt of almost �5 lakh crore.How will the Government pay

for drought relief? We demand�5,000 crore central assistancefor relief measures inMaharashtra," he said whileaddressing reporters.

Chavan said the ongoing"Jan Sangharsh" yatra of hisparty in the Marathwada regionhas been receiving hugeresponse from the people.

He claimed that AICC gen-eral secretary in charge ofMaharashtra MallikarjunKharge rang a symbolic "lastbell" to mark the end of theDevendra Fadnavis-ledGovernment in Maharashtra.

"As this Government onlybelieved in making falsepromises and issuing grandadvertisements, they have nochance of returning to powernext year," he said.

Chavan demanded theGovernment spell out specificmeasures for drought relief.

The Central Governmenthad released �3,050 crore fromthe National Disaster Response

Fund (NDRF) to tackledrought in 2015, when 20 dis-tricts in Marathwada andVidarbha were classified unerthat category.

"The State Governmenthad spent �16,000 crore ondrought relief measures then.Given the Government's mis-management of financialresources in the past four years,mobilising funds to tackle thecurrent drought seems diffi-cult," Chavan alleged.

He alleged that only privatecontractors from the BJP andthe Shiv Sena have benefittedfrom the Jalyukt Shivar schemeof the State Government.

He alleged the ChiefMinister was wasting publicmoney on issuing advertise-ments of his Government.

On the World Bank reporton improvement in India'sposition in the 'Ease of DoingBusiness Index', Chavan saidMaharashtra's rankings havefallen. PTI

�������������!���;1������ ���������������������

���� ��������� ��''�

Asenior BJP leader and hisbrother were shot dead by

unidentified gunmen inKishtwar late Thursdayevening.

Following tension in thearea, curfew was imposed bythe district administration tocontrol unrest in the area.

Angry supporters and localresidents converged outsidedistrict hospital and police sta-tion where they pelted stonesand shouted provocative slo-gans.

The deceased BJP leaderwas identified as Anil Parihar,State secretary, and his broth-er Ajit Parihar.

The duo were returninghome on foot when they weretargeted by two gunmen froma very close range near theirhouse.

&�����17-�,1�����'�����������������-������

Imphal: Manipur ChiefMinister N Biren Singh has saidit is time the imposition of theArmed Forces (Special Powers)

Act, or the AFSPA, in thenortheastern State is reviewedbut added security concernsover the State sharing borderswith foreign countries shouldalso be considered.

The Army said that thoughthe situation in the State wasnow under control, the AFSPAis a requirement to ensure

peace. "Manipur is a peacefulstate now, but the country'ssecurity must be a priority...The financial health and armssupply by foreign countriescannot be ruled out," Singh tolda group of visiting journalistshere on Wednesday.

Major General V K Mishra,the General OfficerCommanding (GOC) of 57Mountain Division of theArmy, which spearheadscounter-insurgency operationsin Manipur, said the AFSPA isa prerequisite for the Army tooperate for maintaining peace

in the militancy-affected state.Citing the example of

seizure of sophisticated armsfrom an insurgent camp, hesaid it takes two months ofefforts and lengthy operations— from intelligence gatheringto locating and search of sus-pects — to recover arms andammunition. Such operationscan be carried out only with theAFSPA in place.

"If we do not have AFSPA,how do we do this?... It is notjust an enabler, it is a prereq-uisite. AFSPA is a requirementfor the Army to function." PTI

��':�������<��������������������

/�!����"��� @&� '����������������

���2�4��!���������������������������7��

�����<�2������%�����������"�����*������.���������"��*����� *��������������!�.�*����&������1������� ���!���/�������� �/�

Page 10: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

"����@#�������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./

� � � � � � � � � � � � � �

�������������������������������������$�+6�5������%3*�$&������%/����������������� � ��� ���������� ����� � ���5��������� �*�����%#��������%�����/�������� �'�������������%���$������ �����%#��������% �������������������������)���������������%#�������� �DF��7�� ���>FB2"������� ������������������������������ ��%$'7%��* ������%#��������������������� �5�+�����%5�"$'7��* ���������5������#������%(������'�����9'���������)����:%3*�$"

�������� ������)����������� ���������$������(������'�����%3 ���-������+��� ��%������%�����0�� )���������$������(������'�����%3 ������+��� ��� ���9FB"BB">FB2:"*�������������E��� ���$����� � �����0�� )����'�����4��������%+��� ��� ���!�,6 ����� ���������� ���( )�" �/����"�� ������ �/�����+��� ��'���������4�����������)��� �B?2F�����%������������������������������ ���� �� ����/�����+��� ���"

� ������������5���������������������� ������5��!����������/����� ���6>FB2�������� ������� �3��$&������� �4,����������� ��(������� �"�������0����� ���%5����� �97������ ��:3��$�����)������ ����� ����������������%/��%$����4,�����)�7������ �3������ %(7/��3� 5���� �DB��7�� ���%>FB2"

� ������)������)����� �$���� �����)�4������������������������E������� ��&� �� �-��������"��������)��� ��E� ��������� ���� �������������������������� �DB��7�� ���� >��3 )�������������� �����BF.FF�'� C.FF�'"���$����(����%$ �"+��� �����������������3��� ���/������� �$���

� �������1��������� ��� � �������������$ ����� ��������������������)������"*������������������)��������������������� ��� ���)�� ������������������������ ��������������%����������������������� � ���)������"

��������������?��,.@�������������� ����5�� ��/��� ���������5����� �(������ ����/�� 6�������� ����� ����9/���: ���������"+����������%5(������ )��������� ������� �� ��5�� �������# ���*Q"��5�� �������DF������� ����# ��� ������������������� ���� �������*���������� ������ ����3��� �"

��������� ��#�����)��� %����� $��$�/7$������+���������*���1�������9+*Q:%� ����������� ��������

������������� ������E��������������� ����BRD�����������)������"'�"������0� ��%4,�����)�5����� �9*�����%������!4�)�� �����::%+*Q%������3��� ��������5����������������

���+��������40�������"����/�����7������������������� ���</� �'�� �/�����"

���������������� �������������A/0+,�7-4+(+/5�������� ����������5��!����������/����� ���6>FB2� �4,����������� ������������ ����� ��"�"����0���%5����� �9#������:�����)������ ����� ������������%/��%$47%3/�/��� %( )������� �/������������ ��������3� 5����"

$����������������0������������� ������ ��$

The World Bank each year, inthe month of October,

announces its rankings on the'Ease of Doing Business' for thenext year. The performance ofeach nation is taken into con-sideration with the 1st of Maybeing the cut-off date. This is anindependent research by theWorld Bank based on objectivecriteria where grading are givenunder ten different heads as perthe criteria specified therein.There is no place for generalities.The improvement has to bespecific. India has now movedto position No.77 in a list of 190nations.

������������India, during the ten years of

the UPA, has witnessed highlevel of corruption, policy paral-ysis and abandonment of allreforms. UPA-II, for its five yeartenure, witnessed a global rank-ing 134, 132, 132, 134 and final-ly 142. This was UPA's miser-able track record. India was themost difficult to do businesswith. Investors were wary ofcoming to India. On the con-trary, there was a reverse flightof capital from India by theinvestors.

���������������The Prime Minister in 2014

itself announced that theGovernment's objective was toensure that India should beamongst the first fifty nations in

the 'Ease of Doing Business'. Hiscall seemed to be a tall promisesince India had to move up 92positions. Amongst the topnations, in each of the ten cate-gories, the competition isextremely tough and manycountries with specific changesmove ahead. Changes requireda legislation, regulation, policydecisions and administrativereforms. They involved techni-cal innovations. Moving up 92positions is a daunting task.Not many were optimistic. Theyregarded it as an unachievablegoal.

The Government startedworking on each of the criteriain 2014 itself. Announcement ofa change, a legislation or a poli-cy is not enough unless the effectof the same is felt on the ground.The World Bank doesn't regardannouncements as a worthyimprovement. There is always atimeline between the reformand the upgrade.

Having inherited the legacyof position No.142, we movedup, in the first two years, andretained position No.130. In thethird year, we have made amajor jump of 30 positions toreach position No.100 and in thefourth year, we have moved toposition No.77. This is a 65 pointimprovement in the first fouryears. We are still 27 positionsaway from the target. Theimpossible now looks plausible.

�����������

���������On the 'Starting of Business',

we have improved in four yearsby 21 points. In 'ConstructionActivity', four year improve-ment is a massive 132 points.The unified bylaws now involvean application for grant of con-struction permit online. Thepermits are to be received onlinewithin a specified time. If theyare not received within thattime, there is a deemed sanction.For 'Getting Electricity', we haveimproved a phenomenal 132positions. On registration ofproperties, we are still at positionNo.166. On ''Getting Credit', weare at position No.22. On'Protecting Minority Investors',we are at position No.7 - ourhighest position in any catego-ry. On 'Trading Across Borders',which involves customs, we haveimproved significantly to posi-tion No.80 from an all time highof 146. After the enactment andimplementation of the GST andthe Insolvency and BankruptcyCode, we have improved in'Payment of Taxes' by 37 posi-tions but are still at 121. In'Resolving Insolvency', we haveimproved 29 positions but arestill at 108. On 'Enforcement ofContracts', we have improved 23positions but are still at 163.

The road for next yearOn 'Payment of Taxes' and

'Resolving Insolvency', the GSTand the NCLT,mechanisms arein place. Early results seem to bequite encouraging and when

this full year's performance istaken into consideration, itwould be logical to assume thatwe will move up significantly inthese two categories. Similarly, on'Enforcement of Contracts', theSpecific Relief Act has beenamended to make the Actenforceable, leaving damages asonly exception. Commercialcourts have been set up in dif-ferent districts of the country.The Arbitration Act has beenamended to provide for expedi-tious arbitrations and the leastjudicial intervention.

The other area where Indiahas to make a special effort tofurther improve is in relation to'starting a business'. Current yearour ranking of 137 has improvedby 21 position in the last fouryears. It is still not a satisfacto-ry position. There are severalprocesses which are relevantboth at the level of the CentralGovernment and the StateGovernments. Much improve-ment is required in these areas.

In each of these criteria,there has to be an emphasis onreducing the time period for anybusiness activity, reducing thecost involved and cutting downthe number of procedures. Thisby itself is not formidable task.If we are able to keep the presentpace of reforms in the aboveareas, the targets set by thePrime Minister would start look-ing a modest one. Only afocussed and a purpose orient-ed Government could haveachieved this.

��� � 34-54&*/

Bar Code India Ltd (BCIL), the coun-try leader in the field of Identification

and Data Collection inaugurated itsCustomer Experience Centre, showcasingin-action real business use cases for vari-ous IoT technology collaborations.

The inauguration was done by Mr.Vijay Sethi – Group CIO Hero MotoCorpon 1st Nov at BCIL Campus in Gurgaonand attended by several distinguishedindustry leaders. At the launch,BCILshowcased intelligent solutions andadvanced technologies that help businesseswith complete visibility of assets andintelligence in supply chain resulting inhigher profits and customer delight. BCIL’sCEC is a uniqueshowcase of real-life

solutions providing insights from pro-duction to consumption, using operationtechnologies such as RFID, Barcoding,EnterpriseMobility and Vision System

seamlessly integrated to Cisco Kinetic IoTplatform and real-time accurate location-aware solutions using Cisco CMX. BCILalong with Cisco offers complete stack ofsuch IOT solutions for various industryverticals.

���� ������BCIL was incorporated over 20 years

ago with focus on Automated DataCollection and Identification technologies.As the technology horizon expanded,Data and Identification lead the founda-tion for Internet of Things and DigitalDisruption. The core of any Industrial IoTsolution is identification of man, machine,material and method data and stitchingthem together for meaningful and intelli-gent insights.

� � � '�'��/

The rupee rallied by 50 paiseto close at 73.45 against the

US dollar on Thursday, postingits biggest single-session spurtin three weeks on increasedselling of the greenback byexporters, softening crude oilprices and upbeat economicnumbers.

Easing of concerns over therift between the governmentand the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) also supported therupee's recovery, forex dealerssaid.

At the Interbank ForeignExchange (Forex) market, thedomestic unit opened higher at73.88, then gained furtherground and settled for the dayat 73.45, registering a jump of50 paise.

On Wednesday, the rupeehad plunged 27 paise to closeat a nearly three-week low of

73.95 as the dollar strengthenedagainst major global currenciesamid steady capital outflows.

The Finance MinistryWednesday said the govern-ment has "nurtured andrespected" autonomy of thecentral bank and has beenholding extensive consulta-tions with it on many issues.

On the economy front, theGoods and Services Tax (GST)collections for October crossedRs 1-lakh crore mark, whileIndia leapfrogged 23 places tothe 77th rank in World Bank'slatest Ease of Doing Businessrankings.

Manufacturing PMI alsostrengthened in October asfirms scaled up productionand employment amid strongrise in new business orderflows.

"Rupee reacted positivelywith a sharp appreciation of 50paise against the dollar. Today's

gain is the highest one day gainfor rupee against dollar sinceOctober 12, 2018," said V KSharma, Head PCG & CapitalMarkets Group, HDFCSecurities.

Crude oil prices moderat-ed amid increase in supply andgrowing concerns that demandmight weaken on the prospectof a global economic slow-down.

Brent crude, the interna-tional benchmark, was trading0.95 per cent lower at USD74.33 per barrel.

Meanwhile, foreign fundspulled out Rs 193.65 crorefrom the capital markets on anet basis Wednesday, whiledomestic institutional investorsbought shares worth Rs1,124.92 crore, provisional datashowed.

The BSE Sensex erased allgains in a highly volatile sessionThursday and finally settled10.08 points, or 0.03 per cent,lower at 34,431.97. The NSENifty, after shuttling between10,441.90 and 10,341.90, ended6.15 points, or 0.06 per centdown at 10,380.45.

The Financial BenchmarkIndia Private Ltd (FBIL) set thereference rate for therupee/dollar at 73.8295 and forrupee/euro at 83.7261.

��+���� ����.(3+���� ����4�������

Mumbai: The BSE Sensexerased all gains in a highlyvolatile session Thursday toend 10 points lower as losses inshares of software exportersand pharmaceutical companiesoffset gains in capital goods,banking and auto counters,amid unabatedforeign fund out-flows.

The bench-mark indicesswung betweengains and losses,with Sensex gyrat-ing over 376points both ways on alternatebouts of buying and selling.The 30-share index openedhigher at 34,650.63 points andadvanced to 34,679.93 pointsamid sustained buying bydomestic institutional investors(DIIs), better-than-expectedcorporate earnings and positiveglobal cues.

It, subsequently, slippedinto the negative zone to hit alow of 34,303.38 points as par-

ticipants began booking prof-its and finally settled 10.08points, or 0.03 per cent, lowerat 34,431.97.

The gauge had climbed550.92 points Wednesday.

Similarly, the NSE Niftyafter shuttling between

10,441.90 and 10,341.90,ended 6.15 points, or 0.06per cent down at10,380.45.

Market commencedthe session on a strongfooting on easing con-cerns around the riftbetween the government

and RBI. However, emergenceof profit-booking at every risereversed early gains.

Market was range bounddespite a fall in oil prices andstrengthening rupee asinvestors remain focused onquarter earnings, analysts said.

Selling was more pro-nounced in information tech-nology and pharmaceuticalsector stocks amid recovery inthe rupee. PTI

� � � 34-54&*/

Sebi Thursday said it willlaunch Unified Payments

Interface as an alternative pay-ment option for retail investors,buying shares in a public issue,in a phased manner fromJanuary 1 next year, which willcut listing time for an IPO tothree days from six at present.

The new mechanism willincrease the efficiency of theexisting system and curtail theneed for manual intervention.

UPI is an instant paymentsystem developed by theNational PaymentsCorporation of India (NPCI).It allows instant transfer ofmoney between any two per-son's bank accounts using apayment address whichuniquely identifies a person'sbank account.

As a part of the continuingefforts to further streamline theprocess, Sebi has decided, inconsultation with the stakeholders to introduce the use ofUPI as a payment mechanismwith Application Supported byBlock Amount (ASBA) forapplications in public issues byretail investors through inter-mediaries.

"The proposed process

would increase efficiency, elim-inate the need for manualintervention at various stages,and will reduce the time dura-tion from issue closure to list-ing by up to 3 working days,"the Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi) said in acircular.

Currently, retail investorseither invest in an IPO throughbank ASBA or through brokerASBA, where the broker doesthe bidding and hands over theapplication form to theinvestors bank.

Considering the timerequired for making necessarychanges to the systems and toensure complete and smoothtransition to UPI paymentmechanism, the regulator saidthat the new mechanism andconsequent reduction in time-lines will be introduced in aphased manner.

"From January 1, 2019, theUPI mechanism for retailinvestors through intermedi-aries will be made effectivealong with the existing processand existing timeline of T+6days. The same will continue,for a period of 3 months orfloating of 5 main board pub-lic issues, whichever is later," itadded.

&�������������������"���!��!������!�����������#���"�����

� ��� 34-54&*/

Suzuki Motorcycle India PvtLtd (SMIPL) on Thursday

reported 30.76 jump in sales inOctober at 65,689 units.

The company had sold

50,237 units October last year,SMPIL said in a statement.

"A strong performanceduring the festive season is crit-ical to our hope of fulfilling oursales target of 7.5 million salesin this financial year," SMIPLManaging Director SatoshiUchida said.

The company enjoyed itshighest-ever retail sales duringthe month and is geared up toend this season on a high, headded. PTI

��<�0������-.-������+��#-�����

�<$����������,#2:9�+�"����

���������'��������98-9>?������

�����,���������������� ��������S/�%�������� �0�� �� ����

Singapore/New Delhi:Hundreds of employees atGoogle offices around the world,including in India, Thursdaystaged an unprecedented seriesof walkouts in protest at thecompany's treatment of womenand lenient treatment of topexecutives accused of sexualmisconduct.

The demonstrations,dubbed "Google Walkout," fol-low an outcry over a New YorkTimes investigation that detailedyears of sexual harassment alle-gations, multimillion-dollar sev-erance packages for accused

executives, and a lack of trans-parency over the cases.

The employees are demand-ing several key changes in howsexual misconduct allegationsare dealt with at the Internetgiant, including a call to endforced arbitration - a movewhich would make it possible forvictims to sue.

Forced arbitration, a com-mon contract clause for SiliconValley employees, demands anydisputes are dealt with internal-ly rather than through othermethods such as the courts.

Google chief executive

Sundar Pichai has told staff hesupports their right to protest.

"Yesterday, we let Googlersknow that we are aware of theactivities planned for Thursdayand that employees will have thesupport they need if they wishto participate," the Indian-American top executive said.

Demonstrations at the com-pany's offices around the worldbegan at 11:10am in Tokyo andtook place at the same time inother time zones.

A photo from the Singaporehub showed at least 100 staffprotesting. When contacted a

Google spokesperson confirmedto PTI that 150 employees par-ticipated in the walkout in India.The employees were fromHyderabad, Gurgaon andMumbai offices. Overall, Googlehas about 2,000 people acrossfour offices in India (Hyderabad,Gurgaon, Mumbai andBangalore).

A Google spokesman inSingapore said he could not pro-vide details on how many peo-ple took part in the walkouts atthose two offices, which eachhave more than 1,000 employ-ees. PTI

A'<�%B��)(��)<�%)

7��� ��������������� ���� !�����

,����������������������!��)5��������� !��"7��<�8�*"37���&�(37��'E��84�)">�E��*!"�K��83�:�������83��3*3�38:�37�+&*

�3F��*���������:�&�"7���8<�37��7(�**�7(�(�'E�&�F�8� �("&*"7<�"&!�(

"7(�&*8E� ��(�8&4���*�*!�� ��7D!�����&!3�D�&�(�"7*� "<�7*�&3 �*"37&��7(

�(F�7D�(�*�D!73 3<"�&�*!�*�!� :'�&"7�&&�&��"*!�D3�: �*��F"&"'" "*E�3;

�&&�*&��7(�"7*� "<�7D��"7�&�:: E�LD!�"7�8�&� *"7<�"7�!"<!�8�:83;"*&�

�7(�D�&*3��8�(� "<!*

Page 11: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

�������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./ �����@@

)�� ���� ����� ��+��������/0/0����������Hanoi: E������ ���� ���# �����7�������������>F>F%*�� � ���� �������� ���� ��������% ��� ��� ��� ������ ���������������� �� ��� ��� �6���������������������������0�� � )���� �� ���0���"������� ������ ����������������*�� �% ����������������� ����)�������������,� ��0%���*�� ��� ���P�$ ����������� ��������� �� �� ��)��� � ��� �)���" T��� ���� � *�� �������� � ���������� ������ �� ��������������� ������� � �� � � ���� � ��� #/� # ����� B - ���$����� �����9�� �:�����>F>F%T�������������"

���������� ���I�������������A+6����������Kathmandu: 5������� ������ �� /���� ������� �� ����� ���������� � ��� ��## �6BC $����� ����� �����������������������0��� ��� ����� ������������ ���������� ���������" /����� 0������� ���� ��������������)���� �6������� �*�������������?D��6������������� �� � ���0�� +����� �� ��� ����� ����������� � ����" /� ��� ���% � �)��% ��� /�������,��������� ���������0 �� ��������� � R6> ����������" /��������������� ����� � ���������% ������������������ � ���� ���% �������������� �)�������������� ���� �60��0�"/�������%�������$ ���� �� ��R6>������������ )����� ��������"$ ������)������������ ��� � �� ��� � ���� � � �� �8� ����� ����� ���������"

��� ����������� �����������������2A+�Shillong: � �0��������4���������� ��������� ������������ �� ����� ��� ���� ������ � �� �� � � ��%������D6B ������ )������� �&�� ������/6&�������� ���������"/�������� ����B>��*�� /6&����%4�� �� �������6���������������������0��� ���������������� ��6��������0��� ��������������� �� ����������������� �����% ���� � �����0�������� ������ ��� �� ���� �� ���0 +�0��� �������" ����� �P�� ����� ����������������)�%� ���������� �� ��%���������,�������� ���)�����������6>>��������������I/�� �����)��������%������������>6F ����������8� �#$��� ������ ��0������� ��������"4� �� � ����������������� ���� �������� �� ���� 0��06����� ����� �������% ����� ��)�� ������ 3�� �� >6F ��(���-��0B"

���������� A2/��� ������+���� ���$�Antalya: �������0��������% � ���������������� ��� �� ���4�� ����� ��P�+ 0�� � ���;���% ����� ����� ����B6�����=F� ���������6D>�������������� ��� �������0�����������7���������������"������%>6 )������� ��)�� ��� ���� �� ����� ����� �����6������ �BC����%��� )����)��� ����� ���������� ������������������ ��� ���"������������������ ��������>6�����%������������ �� �� ����B2��� �� ���� � � ������ �� B6����� =F" ������% ������ ��� ��,�� ��0 � ��� �� �% ��� � �� ������� ��� ��� ��)���� ���BD����������� ��� ������%��������B2��"

���� ������������ �������������Mumbai: �����0� ���/��������������������������&����'�����7�������������� �������������������61����������� ���� ������� ��������� ��%��0���+����%������� ������ ����������� ���������"/������6 ����� ���� �������� )����������� ���>FF���0 ����-���������%��0���������� ���������������4�� ���� �� ������ �' ������ %5��0�� )����%���� ��>6@%C6=�� ��� �����R=������������$���0��$��� �/����P������ ����"��0���%���0��B?=� � )����P�B?R% ��� ������ � � ��� ���� ��� �� ������� �-������������������� ���������� �������� ������0� ���� � ������ � �6���� ��)�� ���� ������ �+������� ����R6@%@6>=6@9C:��>� ������B=�����������������������" ������

��06�

����� ��+/�

Novak Djokovic celebrated hiselevation to world number oneby reaching a new personal

landmark to reach the Paris Mastersquarter-finals on Thursday.

The Serb won his last 16 tie withDamir Dzumhur after the Bosnian wasforced to retire trailing 6-1, 2-1 at Bercy.

For second seed Djokovic it meanthe extended his sequence of consecu-tive winning sets to 30, passing his pre-vious best mark of 29 from 2015.

The four-time Paris championfaces Marin Cilic in the last eight onFriday.

Djokovic takes over as world num-ber one in the latest ATP rankings pub-lished Monday from Rafael Nadal, whowithdrew injured from Paris onWednesday.

Cilic, the fifth seed, secured hisquarter-final ticket with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 defeat of Grigor Dimitrov.

Cilic fired 29 winners to advanceto the last eight in the French capital forthe third straight year.

The win improved the Croat'sprospects of making the ATP Finals inLondon starting on November 11.

"I am very close to London, tosecuring my spot mathematically," saidCilic, who is part of the Croatia teamfacing France in the Davis Cup final atthe end of this month.

"In the next match against Novakit will be another big challenge. (It willbe) great to play him again."

Cilic, who will guarantee makingthe cut for London if he downsDjokovic, was ending reigning ATPFinals champion Dimitrov's season.

Dimitrov has been coached by aformer coach of Djokovic, eight-timemajor winner Andre Agassi, in Paristhis week.

Djokovic and Cilic were laterjoined in the quarter-finals by KarenKhachanov who saved two matchpoints agaisnt John Isner on his way todefeating the eight-seeded American 6-4, 6-7 (9/11), 7-6 (10/8).

The Russian will next playAlexander Zverev after the Germanfourth seed beat Diego Schwartzman ofArgentina 6-4, 6-2.

Earlier on Wednesday, Rafael Nadalpulled out of the Paris Masters guar-

anteeing Novak Djokovic's return to theworld number one spot.

The Wimbledon and US Openchampion becomes the first player tostart the season outside the top 20 andend up top of the ATP rankings sinceMarat Safin in 2000.

For Nadal it means delaying hislong awaited comeback from injurywhich has kept him sidelined since theUS Open.

After Paris the ATP tour's eight top-ranked players congregate in Londonfrom November 11 for the season'sFinals.

The 32-year-old Nadal has enjoyeda successful year, clinching his 17thGrand Slam title by winning an 11thFrench Open in June, after triumphs inMonte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.

But it is Djokovic who will be topdog when the latest ATP rankingsappear on Monday, irrespective of hisfate in the French capital this week.

Despite the blow the tournamentorganisers will be relieved to see RogerFederer making his first appearance atthe competition since 2015.

The Swiss great starts his quest forhis 100th ATP title in the last 16 onThursday after his Wednesday rivalMilos Raonic withdrew through anelbow injury.

World number three Federer willface Italy's Fabio Fognini, ranked 14,who made the next round whenHungary's Marton Fucsovics with-drew injured.

Elsewhere, German fourth seedAlexander Zverev, playing his 70thmatch of the season, defeated FrancesTiafoe of the United States 6-4, 6-4while defending champion Jack Sockput out Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-3.

South African seventh seed KevinAnderson, the champion in Vienna atthe weekend, battled past NikolozBasilashvili of Georgia 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3).

Anderson next faces Japan's 10thseed Kei Nishikori, who he defeated inthe Austria final. Nishikori made thelast-16 with a 7-5, 6-4 win over AdrianMannarino of France.

Bulgarian ninth seed GrigorDimitrov, who is working with US leg-end Andre Agassi in Paris, wentthrough with a 7-6 (12/10), 6-4 victo-ry over Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.

����� &73573

American number threeMadison Keys said she

has no doubt Serena Williamscan equal the record of 24Grand Slam titles despite herstormy defeat in the US Openfinal.

Keys said Williams, whoargued furiously with theumpire during her shock lossto Naomi Osaka in New York,certainly had Margaret Court'sall-time mark as a target.

Williams, 37, returnedfrom giving birth to her firstchild in September last year toreach the Wimbledon and USOpen finals, but suffered upsetlosses in both to leave her stuckon 23 major wins.

"I definitely think she cando it, and I definitely think it'ssomething that she thinksabout," Keys said at the WTAElite Trophy atZhuhai in China.

"I think shewants it and Ithink whenSerena puts hermind to some-thing, it usual-ly happens,"she added.

Keys, 23,started playing ten-nis after watchingWilliams and her sis-ter Venus on televi-sion and has oftencited them as aninspiration.

"She cameback and sheplayed threeGrand Slams andmade two finals," theworld number 16said.

"No one is evergoing to be Serenaand I think she'sdone a ton for thesport and has helpedplayers like me a lot,"she added.

She said it will bea "big loss" whenWilliams finallyretires, but that she

would remain a major figure intennis.

"Obviously when shedecides to stop playing it'sgoing to be a big loss but Ithink she'll always be a part ofit, and she's always going tohold all these records and stillbe the greatest tennis playerever.

"So I think we'll alwayshave her in the sport eventhrough she's not playing."

Until Sloane Stephens wonlast year's US Open, the lastAmerican woman to lift amajor trophy, apart from theWilliams sisters, was JenniferCapriati in 2002.

But Keys said Americanwomen's tennis was in "prettygood" shape. Sixth-rankedStephens, the currentAmerican number one, wasrunner-up at last week's WTAFinals.

"Sloane has obviously donereally well this

year, I thinkI'm one ofthe USp l a y e r swho's had a

pretty good seasonthis year," Keys said.

"I think there'sa lot of really greatAmerican playersand I think the

younger ones have donea really great job this

year."Asked if anybody

on the current tourwill ever match

Williams's achieve-ments, Keys said:

"Everything's always pos-sible.

"But to do what shedid, especially as she start-ed at such a young age, andto keep continuing to be sogood, I think it would bevery difficult."

Keys beat top seed DariaKasatkina in her openingmatch in Zhuhai, which fol-lows the round-robin formatuntil Saturday's semi-finals.She will next play China'sWang Qiang.

����� &73573

Chelsea dumped FrankLampard's Derby out of the

League Cup on Wednesday despitea valiant effort by theChampionship side to battle backfrom a defensive Halloween hor-ror show.

Maurizio Sarri's much-changed side eventually emerged3-2 winners, with all five goalscoming in a helter-skelter first half,on a night when there were alsofourth-round victories for Arsenal,Tottenham and Middlesbrough.

Two astonishing early defen-sive errors at Stamford Bridgefrom Fikayo Tomori — on loanfrom Chelsea — and RichardKeogh either side of a Jack Marriottequaliser gave the home side a 2-1 lead.

Undaunted, Lampard's sidelevelled shortly before the half-hour through Martyn Waghornbefore Cesc Fabregas restoredorder for the Premier Leaguehigh-flyers.

Lampard, one of Chelsea'sgreatest-ever players, felt his sidedeserved a draw on chances cre-ated but said he was a "lucky man"to be able to enjoy such an occa-sion.

"The difference between thesides was they scored three... actu-

ally we scored fourdidn't we? I jokebecause I'm proud,"he told Sky Sports."Talking to their staff,they're saying we're

playing well."I respect this club, I don't have

to talk about this club. I'm proudof my players."

Buoyed by his side's win onpenalties at Old Trafford againsthis former Chelsea boss JoseMourinho in the previous round,he was dismayed to witness the

errors from his side, which madetheir task all the harder.

Timori sliced into his own netin the fifth minute, miscuing aclearance when attempting to dealwith an innocuous-looking DavideZappacosta cross.

Midway through the half,lightning struck twice when Keoghfailed to deal with anotherZappacosta delivery, haplesslysteering the ball into his own net.

But the visitors played a fullrole in a frantic first half, lookingsharp as they came forward and

were back on level terms beforeFabregas scored what turned outto be the decisive goal.

�� ����$�������Keogh had a late chance to

make amends for his earlier howlerbut Willy Caballero saved at closerange and David Nugent hit thepost in the 89th minute, leavingLampard holding his head in hishands in frustration.

Ten-man Arsenal were madeto sweat by League One Blackpoolbefore eventually emerging 2-1winners, with goals from StefanLichtsteiner and Emile Smith-Rowe.

Two goals from Son Heung-min and a strike from FernandoLlorente gave Tottenham a 3-1 winagainst West Ham whileChampionship sideMiddlesbrough upset Premierleague outfit Crystal Palace 1-0.

On Tuesday, Burton Albionand Bournemouth booked theirplaces in the quarter-finals whilePremier League leadersManchester City play Fulham onThursday.

The quarter-final draw pitsArsenal against Spurs, whileChelsea take on Bournemouthand Middlesbrough play Burton.Leicester or Southampton willplay Manchester City or Fulham.

����� �4+&/3

Marco Reus's 120th-minute penalty broke

Union Berlin hearts and sentBorussia Dortmund stum-bling into the third round ofthe German Cup with an epic3-2 win on Wednesday.

Sebastian Polter had twicebrought Union back frombehind, but the second divi-sion side's spirited resistancewas ended in the final minuteof extra time, as MarvinFriedrich brought downChristian Pulisic and Reussmashed home the penalty.

Pulisic proddedDortmund ahead five minutesbefore half-time, stabbing inthe rebound after goalkeeperRafal Gikiewicz had clawedShinji Kagawa's header off theline.

Union came out fightingin the second half, and wererewarded for their spirit whensubstitute Polter poked in anequaliser on the counter-attackjust after the hour mark.

Maximilian Philippappeared to end the resis-tance on 73 minutes, pickingup Pulisic's through ball and

rifling the ball past Gikiewicz.Yet Polter sprung another

surprise minutes from time,heading in Robert Zulj's crossto level the scores again.

Union fought on bravelyin extra-time before Reus'spenalty sent Dortmund intothe third round.

Elsewhere, Schalke alsoedged into the third round,ending their three-game goaldrought in a 1-1 draw beforewinning 6-5 on penalties toscrape past Cologne.

Bayer Leverkusen cruisedto a 5-0 victory over BorussiaMoenchengladbach, whileNagelsmann's Hoffenheim lost2-0 in Leipzig to crash out ofthe second round for a thirdseason in a row.

�����'�5+/5

Santiago Solari's reign as interim RealMadrid coach got off to an encour-

aging start on Wednesday as theEuropean champions made light ofthird-tier hosts Melilla in the Copa delRey.

Goals from Karim Benzema,Marco Asensio, Alvaro Odriozola andCristo Gonzalez earned the 19-timechampions a 4-0 win on their first visitto this Spanish enclave on the northAfrican coast.

Solari was promoted from boss ofReal's Castilla B team on Monday afterthe sacking of Julen Lopetegui only 139days after his appointment.

Sunday's 5-1 Clasico humbling byBarcelona proved the last straw for Realpresident Florentino Perez, who willnevertheless have been warmed by theteam's display in this last 32 first legclash.

"In tough times, we are all pullingin the same direction," said Solari. "Wehave a team of great champions whoknow what to do to get the job done."

Melilla may not be Barca orManchester City but there was plentyto like about Real's performance, not

least the bright debut of highly-tout-ed Brazilian teenager Vinicius Junior.

After catching the eye in Solari'sCastilla side the 18-year-old Flamengorecruit was handed his first teamstarting debut, and was one of Real'sbest players.

His superb pass set up Asensio forReal's second on the stroke of half time,after Benzema playing as a central strik-er had tapped in Odriozola's assist fromclose range on 28 minutes.

Odriozola bagged his first goal forReal, firing into an empty net aftergood work from Vicinius and Reguillobefore substitute Gonzalez headedhome.

Solari said on Tuesday he was opento becoming Real coach on a long termbasis, and as a statement of intent hecould not have asked for much morefrom his first game in charge.

The Argentinian, who spent fiveyears playing for Madrid between2000 and 2005, is likely to remain inpost for Real's La Liga game at hometo Real Valladolid on Saturday andcould stay on for next week's trip toViktoria Plzen in the ChampionsLeague.

Madrid have sounded out formerChelsea and Juventus coach AntonioConte but initial talks have reported-ly not gone smoothly. Belgium bossRoberto Martinez and the club's for-mer midfielder Guti have also beenlinked.

Also in the other fixture, Barcelonabeat Cultural Leonesa by a solo goalthat came via defender ClementLenglet in the first minute of injuryteam after both team failed to break thedeadlock in 90 minutes.

����� '/&�3

Alessio Romagnoli snatched a late winafter earlier conceding an own goal as

AC Milan moved fourth in Serie A onWednesday with a 2-1 win over Genoa.

The match between the two teams hadbeen postponed following the Genoabridge collapse in August which killed 41people.

"I'm sorry for my own goal, but I madeup for it," said Romagnoli.

Gennaro Gattuso's side overtake Lazioon goal difference with 18 points from tengames— ten points behind leaders Juventus— and four points behind Napoli in third.

"It's a step, now we have to stay there,"said Gattuso, whose side had been in tenthposition before the international break.

"We know it's difficult, but after every-thing we've been through, it's somethingimportant."

Spanish forward Suso had put the hostsahead after four minutes but Gattuso's sidethen suffered, with Romagnoli turning intohis own net after 56 minutes after a mixupwith on-loan Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue

Bakayoko.Genoa goalkeeper Andrei Radu proved

solid denying Gonzalo Higuain and FranckKessie, but was finally beaten by Romagnoliwho volleyed over the Romanian keeperwho had punched a shot clear of goal.

"We've been criticised too much.Results are what count and we've got anoth-er. We must improve and stay near the top,"said Romagnoli.

Genoa drop to 11th position after theirfourth defeat of the season.

�,�0�������-������������3� ��������� �������������������������������� �� �����������������B@�����

.�"���0%���"���������������������������������*������������:A��������� ��5������������������!�� ���

������ ����������������� ��

����@���*��������������������*����=�*���������*�����0���������� ��

���������������������������������*� �� ������������'����'����������*����������������

&���������� ���/& �������:�1'�

&�*)�(�.�)����,�* �0���� �'*��+�

����������'��+���:����.

&�����>�� ����!���������������� � � �������������/��������������� �����������

����� J*�*�/

Australia's Ashleigh Barty beat anout-of-sorts French number one

Caroline Garcia to keep her semi-final hopes alive at the WTA EliteTrophy on Thursday.

Ninth seed Barty broke Garciaonce in each set to win the round-robin tie 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 16minutes in Zhuhai, southern China.

Barty, who lost to ArynaSabalenka on Tuesday, now has towait for the outcome of Garcia andSabalenka's match to see if she willprogress to the semi-finals onSaturday.

"It's out of my hands," Barty saidin her post-match press conference.

"I just have to sit back and watchtomorrow. But I'm certainly pleasedto have had the year we've had and

really nice to finish on a positive notetoday."

She said she was in a "win-winsituation", being able to "play withfreedom", but knowing that if she lostshe could still go home at the end ofthe season.

Garcia, 25, was crowned cham-pion in Tianjin in October, but she

was unable to bring that form intoher opening match at the HengqinInternational Tennis Center.

The world number 18, seededeighth, said she had some backpain coming into the tournament,and felt her legs weren't moving theway she wanted on court.

"It was a very difficult match forme today and I think she played greatbut I wasn't feeling very good anddidn't have the rhythm I wanted.

"It's a difficult start for me ofcourse, but I was happy to start onThursday because I had some backpain when I got back to France lastMonday so it was a very complicat-ed week for me.

"Today I think Ash played a greatmatch as well." The Elite Trophy fea-tures 12 players ranked roughlyfrom nine to 20.

,��������������������)���/��������������"

Page 12: ˇ’ ( )$# * 4ˆ$˝&˝ /3( +’ . 437(* ˆ & 7# ( ˝+˝ ˆ /&& /54˝& …...2018/11/02  · didate and cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Congress choice of candidate for Raipur-South

�������'������( '���)�*����+,�+-./ �����@

� ��� �*/+�E�3�3�*���+�'

Aruthless India completed a nine-wicket demolition of the WestIndies in the fifth and final ODI

here Thursday for their sixth succes-sive series win at home.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadejatook four wickets to help India bun-dle out the West Indies for 104 in just31.5 overs. Pacers Khaleel Ahmedand Jasprit Bumrah chipped in withtwo wickets each.

The home team took just 14.5overs to reach the paltry target, cour-tesy an unbeaten 99-run stand betweenRohit Sharma (62 off 54) and captainVirat Kohli (33 off 29), followinganother low score from ShikharDhawan.

It was a complete surrender fromthe West Indies, who let themselvesdown after competing hard in the firstthree ODIs. The previous game atMumbai too was dominated by thehosts before they romped to a 3-1series win here.

India last lost a series at home in2015, when they went down 2-3against South Africa.

The hosts wasted in no time com-pleting the 105-run target after thebowlers laid the foundation of a mas-sive victory.

Rohit continued his fine form,

notching up a half-century, in theprocess going past the 1,000-run markfor the calendar year 2018 and also hit-ting his 200th six in ODIs.

The India vice-captain had a luckyescape when he was caught behind byShai Hope off Oshane Thomas' bowl-ing on 18. He made most of thatreprieve as he hit five boundaries andstruck four imperious sixes. Kohlitoo was solid at the other end and hisinnings comprised six fours.

Dhawan's soft dismissal wouldprobably be one of the lows for Indiaas he chopped on a delivery fromThomas, who worked up good pacebut was inconsistent with his line and

length.Earlier, the West Indies were in

trouble right from the start after skip-per Jason Holder chose to bat. PacerBhuvneshwar Kumar had KieranPowell caught behind by M S Dhonifor a duck off the fourth ball, givingIndia their first wicket.

Shai Hope, who has been one ofthe best West Indies batsmen on touralongside Shimron Hetmyer, was cas-tled by Bumrah off a beauty in the sec-ond over to leave the team at 2 for 2.

The experienced Marlon Samuels,

from whom a lot was expected, led abrief revival, hitting some crisp bound-aries and the only six of the innings.

The Indian domination could begauged from the fact that the firstboundary came in the sixth overwhen Rovman Powell lofted one fromBumrah over the infield.

Samuels' resistance ended in the12th over when he fell to a soft dis-missal of Jadeja for 24, spooning acatch to skipper Virat Kohli.

As has often been the case in theseries, Holder showed patience andskill to resist the rampant Indianbowlers but his dismissal hastened theend.

The lanky Holder was taken byKedar Jadhav, running in from thedeep when he tried to go ariel againstKhaleel Ahmed. He was the top-scor-er with 25.

The spinners took over and pol-ished off the tail.

� ��� �*/+�E�3�3�*���+�'

Ambati Rayudu's batting at number four andyoung Khaleel Ahmed's emergence as the third

seamer were the two biggest gains from the ODIseries against the West Indies, feel India skipper ViratKohli and head coach Ravi Shastri.

"Two areas I can think of are for third seamer- Khaleel has been outstanding. God forbid anythinghappens to Bhuvi or Bumrah, good to have Khaleelwho can come in and take wickets. Rayudu has alsotaken responsibility at No 4. Those two areas we werelooking at (prior to the series). And those two havebeen addressed," Kohli said at the post-match pre-sentation cere-mony.

Shastri on hispart also seemedhappy with thekind of pressureR a y u d uabsorbed, havingmade a comebackin the Indianteam.

"I am prettyhappy withRayudu. It isnever easy tomake a comebackin the team aftercouple of years.Even though you have to express yourself, you holdback and that is understandable because couple ofbad performances can lose you your place. He hashandled the pressure really well and batted really wellin the last match," the head coach said.

Shastri seemed impressed with left-arm seam-er Khaleel but wants him to add a few more clicks.

"The left-arm fast bowlers can be very handy.Khaleel is raw, he doesn't have the experience buthe has the variations and has the aggression too.Once he adds to his speed, he will be more thaneffective."

Shastri said the team is back on track after itssixth successive ODI series win at home.

"We are back on track. I thought we were belowpar in the field in the second and third ODI.Sometimes you need a wake-up call and we were atour best in the last two ODIs. This Windies teamis a promising unit. They have some exceptionalplayers who with exposure, I am sure will test someof the big sides," the coach felt.

Skipper Kohli too praised his bowlers for theirclinical show in the last two games. "Because of ourclinical performance, we were able to finish the gamein a few hours. Credit to the bowling unit for pitch-ing it in the right areas. Was surprised that WestIndies chose to bat, we wanted to bowl first anyway."

=/������D6B������ �� �������������������)����������������������� )��-���/�����"������ ���B6R��

��)��������������-���/�������>FF@%/������)� �������������)��������������������������"

�,,/������� �������������� ��������� ��������� ����������

-������������ ��0��� ���>BB�������������"/� ��/��������� ������� ���������� ����������������BF ��0��� �� ���>DB���������������������������� ��� �������>FFB"

->.- )���������� ������ �������CF6 )��75/��/������������/����"

���)� ���� ��� ��R2"B )���6/359>B"B:)�3J9>=:%$������%>FBF"

�?�+ ������������ ��������� ��/�����������������'�������

����5� ��� � ������� ����������� ���,����CF6 )������"

,?--���/�������� ���������� ����)��� ���������/������� ��� ��� �

BFR��DB"C )���"-���/����������)� ��� ���������/���� ��B>B��� �� ��������B??=" ���������������

FIGURATIVELY

�����������������#6,��������'�������� �������75/ ��? ��0��������������P�� ��6����������������-������� BFR

�7& ��*&��7 �<�"7&* $��8CBC #�0���J���� J/' >FB2R@= *'���0��8� �43 >FF?RCD E����� ��� -/ >FB2RCB ���������� ��3 >FF2RR2 ' ��*����8 �& >FBD

��� ����������6A�� �����������

����C��"��������(�3���������+��*��������*����������$������������������A����$��������@#!����+����,@283���2�������1���������"���������������"������������������������*��������

������������ � � ��������� ������D38� �F�8&� )�7�� �*�BFR DB"C ���)������ FB6BB6>FB2B>B RD"C � �� ������ >=6FR6B??=B>D RF"B � �0��� >=6BB6B??DB>@ RB ����� F@6B>6B??BB>? D@ ����� DF6F?6>FF?

� ������ �����

4-����'� �����>������!������**��������!������